JERSEY may make its living in different ways these days, but its heart and soul remain in the countryside.

For that reason, the latest draft of the Rural Economy Strategy, published this week as a consultative white paper, should be of great interest to all Islanders. It is a document likely to have a profound influence on the quality of life for both current and future generations as it develops into a plan for balancing the modern requirements of the farming industry with those of the environment.

Sitting neatly and happily between those two sets of interests are those of a resident population which needs open spaces for spiritual well-being and a tourism industry which, in today’s marketplace, simply cannot survive without green attractions and countryside pursuits.

To finesse all of that into one coherent strategy for the rural economy is clearly a challenge, but the rewards of success will be great. Not least among the pressing reasons to give it the highest of priorities is the protection it might provide against the mounting pressure on rural space created by the current unholy alliance of profit-hungry developers and irresponsible States immigration policy.

Beyond the specific business concerns of farming and fishing, the white paper contains many interesting and appealing ideas of general interest, including community agriculture, in which groups of consumers agree to support individual farms; farm holidays at Hamptonne; wildlife corridors; allotments on farm land; freshwater lakes where old glasshouses once stood; and the enhancement and protection of the Island’s biodiversity. To appreciate the massive importance of that last objective, it is necessary only to reflect for a moment on the sad sights seen every year at branchage time as machine operators tear up hedgerows and wildlife habitats – a clear case for prohibitive legislation if ever there was one.

Most hearteningly, this wide-ranging and innovative document is the result of a collaboration between the Economic Development and Environment ministries – something which would have been virtually unthinkable not so long ago.

Jersey would be lost without good farmers, and the draft rural strategy offers them great encouragement for the future. Some of them resent being cast as park-keepers, but that, inescapably, is now among their most important roles, thanks to a combination of inherited pride, enlightened self-interest and gratitude for public subsidies. Theirs is a task which may differ in detail from that of their forefathers, but is nevertheless fully in keeping with the spirit of our rural heritage and one which can be embraced with pride and enthusiasm, even in the 21st century.