THE Government has been urged to retain its regional Ministry of Agriculture offices by the Yorkshire branch of the Country Landowners Association.

Branch chairman Richard Howard-Vyse and regional director Dorothy Fairburn told the House of Commons Select Committee on Agriculture that regional ministry officials should be accessible to farmers and not isolated in large cities. The Government is reviewing the future of its offices in the regions.

"If we are to have a bureaucracy to help farmers it must be close to where they work and easily accessible," said Miss Fairburn. Because farm incomes are increasingly under pressure, she said, "it is more important than ever for farmers to have local contact with the people who can help them ... telephoning a call centre is not a solution."

She added that there was a danger that computerisation would move to quickly for the small working farmer and, apart from not having the equipment, they would not have the skills to move into the fast developing world of information technology."