FARMERS in East Lancashire may have to diversify to survive, a Labour MP has warned.

But Burnley MP Peter Pike says they will need more Government help to do so. He said farming was already the most heavily subsidised industry in the UK but added: "I recognise the very difficult farming conditions in North East Lancashire and the inability to survive by farming alone.

"If we want to maintain the current balance in the countryside, we must get more help - or diversify and, where necessary, receive assistance to do so."

Mr Pike wrote to agriculture minister Joyce Quin after Burnley Council expressed concern over local farming.

In reply, the minister said she shared concern at the fall in farm incomes in recent years, caused, she said, by a number of factors including the strength of the pound and low prices for most major commodities.

She said the Government had already responded with extra cash aid over and above the £1.6 billion paid in farming subsidies. It was also introducing a new Hill Farm Allowance.

She said: "The Government is very much committed to helping farmers through their current difficulties and to providing a more stable basis for their businesses in future."

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