The delivery of a strong, sustainable and competitive agriculture sector requires an increase in the CAP budget, IFA president Joe Healy has said.

The IFA president said that in discussions on the future of the EU budget, strengthening existing common policies, such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), is critical to securing a strong future for the EU, and to demonstrate the positives of EU membership to citizens.

An IFA delegation met last week with the Irish ambassador to the EU, Declan Kelleher, Irish MEPs and members of the European Commission’s Brexit negotiating team.

“At these meetings, we stressed that reductions in the CAP budget as a result of Brexit must be resisted,” Healy said.

Adequate funding

“Member states must take into account the need for adequate funding to support the many economic, social and environmental benefits that are delivered through CAP, and to allow the policy to reform and respond to the demands of European society, and to emerging challenges in the areas of climate change and environmental sustainability,’’ Healy added.

“It must be recognised that low farm incomes remain a major challenge.

‘‘Cuts to the CAP budget have undermined the effectiveness of this common policy and its ability to provide a fair standard of living for producers, who are meeting high regulatory standards in the areas of food safety, animal health, welfare and the environment,’’ Healy said.