British farmers are opting for better paid jobs in towns and cities, according to a report out today by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

It shows that nearly two thirds of farms sold between April and June this year went to non-farmers.

RICS has identified "a trend of people buying small to medium-sized farms in order to live in the house, with no intention of farming the land themselves".

Forum Response: Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

Julian Sayers, rural spokesman for RICS, said: "Rural land prices are not solely dependent on activity in the farming sector.

"The collapse in the rural market, predicted in the wake of foot and mouth and uncertainty over the CAP mid-term review, has not happened. Such predictions failed to take account of the potential of other rural purchasers to bolster activity, such as residential buyers."

Forum Response: National Farmers Union

Judith Howell, parliamentary affairs adviser at the NFU, told ePolitix.com: "This report is evidence that more and more people from towns and cities are deciding to give up the rat race and go and get what they perceive to be a piece of the rural idyll. A growing section of the urban population is more affluent and they want to go and live in the countryside.

"The fact that farmhouses are available to buy is a symptom of the change and financial crisis in farming over the past few years. Some farmers have decided to quit the land because of the economic situation and younger farmers are not prepared to take over from them. Many of the farms were also not of an economically viable size.

"This trend does not mean that the land is not farmed. To the contrary, a lot of the land will be bought up by other farmers or will be contracted to other farmers to work. There's no evidence that farmland is becoming derelict. It is important that the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy should lead to a period of sustained confidence for the farming community.

"There are various effects of the phenomenon. The influx of townspeople, brings much-needed capital to farming. If town and city people weren't buying farmhouses, prices would be lower. In addition, it creates a diverse countryside.

"However, it does keep up rural house prices, making it more difficult for people from the countryside to stay there. And city and town dwellers moving to the countryside may find it takes longer than they think to get used to a rural way of life. In this context, there is an important education and assistance role for farmers.

"On balance, however, it suggests that people value the countryside and want to live there, which can't be a bad thing."

Forum Response: Countryside Alliance

Richard Burge, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, told ePolitix.com: "This trend is something we have noticed very much, especially in the last couple of years. Farming as an industry has been in decline for some time, having suffered BSE, swine fever and foot and mouth disease in a fairly short space of time.

"This has crippled many farmers, leaving many of them no choice but to sell their properties for sums that are ever increasing due to the urban interest in weekend bolt-holes.

"It is extremely worrying for two reasons: one, we want rural people to live and work in rural areas, thus maintaining rural communities, not head for more affordable urban areas, taking their skills with them and two: we do not want to see such massive areas of the countryside become nothing but gardens for those who come to the countryside a couple of times a month.

"The land should be worked - British farmers are proud to provide our food and we should ensure that they can continue to do so rather than let rural Britain become one big manicured lawn".

Forum Response: Country Land and Business Association

Oliver Harwood, head of rural economy at CLA, said: "A significant proportion of farms have always been sold to people from outside farming, although this trend appears to be on the increase.

"Sadly, for the last five years most farmers have not been able to make the kind of money needed to buy up adjoining holdings. At the same time, reduced incomes affect the willingness of existing farmers to struggle on.

"However, sales of farmland to non-farmers may benefit the countryside as a whole. Farmers who are stuck with unprofitable farms can sell-up, and the new landowner can then lease the land to other farmers who can spread their fixed costs and achieve better economies of scale. Some new owners may be starting farming in their own right.

"What matters most is whether outside money is bringing a better restructuring of farming, along with new investment. New landowners may well invest in the local community, hiring local builders and land consultants and investing in new types of businesses, which brings a welcome boost to the rural economy."