A viable and profitable agriculture industry can be one of the cornerstones in the fight against climate change and in tackling environmental issues, according to union officials.

National Farmers' Union (NFU) Deputy President Meurig Raymond said Environment Secretary David Miliband's recent speech to the Campaign to Protect Rural England's conference calling for a "radical rethink" about land use showed farming had a key role to play in the country's future.

But he said the growth and development of biofuels and the use of environmental management schemes had to be viable propositions for farmers to ensure they were successful.

"This debate is important, vital and exciting and what Mr Miliband said shows why farming matters to the future of our country, not just with regards to food production but also in terms of the production of biofuels to help in the fight against climate change, and through land management schemes," Raymond said.

"There are environmental impacts of farming which need to minimised and reduced and the agriculture industry will do all it can to tackle these issues.

"But to achieve all this, the different roles farming is being asked to play must have an economically profitable future.

"We're not going to get all these environmental and other benefits, as well as the production of quality local food to the highest standards, unless every aspect of agriculture is economically viable.

"Mr Miliband mentioned the urban renaissance. There now needs to be a rural renaissance so the real value of agriculture is recognised by society."