Green Special: Minister hopes for climate deal

He hopes nations can come to an agreement during the Copenhagen summit in December to bolster this work.

He said: "We're doing a lot in the agricultural community, producing case studies and addressing how they can reduce greenhouse gases.

"We're working the dairy sector to look at everything from the milking parlours to the vehicles and the animals themselves and trying to give them advice.

"It's about getting to Copenhagen and trying to get a world deal on climate change.

"Everybody recognises there two distinct poles of opinion. There's the developed world who want to see real progress on climate change, and the countries in development that want to protect the improvements that they are making in the lives of their citizens.

"What we need to do is make sure that there's an acceptance that climate change is happening, and that we're responsible for at least half of that.

"If we can deal with carbon emissions, we might be able to reverse that process."

Defra is approaching the end of its online Food 2030 discussion, which invited the public to contribute ideas and observations on UK food production. It released an action plan in August on the department's plans to enable "sustainable farming and food production".

It has pledged to establish fair prices and choice, improvements in food safety, a more environmentally sustainable food chain and to guide the country towards healthier diets.

Mr Fitzpatrick said: "British farmers are among the most efficient in the world. We're better placed than many countries to take advantage of increasing markets that will be opening up.

"We need to make sure that we're providing enough R&D for them, and sharing that information.

"We're spending £10million on anaerobic digestion to turn organic waste into renewable energy. We're talking to supermarkets and retailers to reduce waste packaging and energy use. Scientific research is ongoing to identify ways to reduce the emissions from animals.

"Our research station at East Malling in Kent is being used to help farmers reduce the amount of water and fertiliser needed to grow crops. For example, the water needed to produce strawberries can be cut down by up to 85 per cent. At the moment it takes 17 and a half litres of water to produce a punnet, so it's a big saving.

"We're 73 to 75 per cent self-sufficient now, which is as high as it's been since the '50s. We're never going to be 100 per cent self-sufficient but we want to assist farmers by promoting British produce both at home and abroad."

One of Defra's roles is to encourage people to buy British produce, but Mr Fitzpatrick notes that buying local is not a guaranteed indicator of reduced emissions.

He said: '"If it's locally sourced and seasonal, it's more likely to be causing less emissions. But if it's using more water and pesticides it might be less efficient than produce shipped from somewhere that's seasonal.

"It's not a simple science, but the strong message from us is to buy British and you're more likely to be helping the environment."

He also backed moves to introduce more children to the countryside. The Government is piloting a diploma in environment and land studies which will be available to all 14 to 19 year olds by 2013.

He said: "The experience of riding a combine harvester during harvest for the first time at 57 years of age was very exciting.

"We need to get as many of our children out into the countryside as possible to help them learn about farming and the environment.

"In one school, when they were asked where milk comes from, one kid said "Tescos". We need to help them realise that there's something behind Tesco's that's producing the milk, and this will also help them to understand more about the environment, the economy, and how retail works."