Common lobbying priorities for a new UK domestic agricultural policy and trading arrangements post Brexit were agreed by presidents of the National Farmers Union (NFU), NFU Scotland, NFU Cymru and the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) during a meeting in Brussels on Friday.
Shared interests include access to both EU and third country markets, UK market protection from low quality imports, a new domestic agricultural policy with less bureaucratic requirements than CAP, farming legislation based on science and access to migrant labour.
“While there are no quick-fix solutions and this will be a slow process, it is essential that we have set out at this early stage what we consider to be the priorities for the negotiations and the creation of future agriculture policy in our respective countries,” the four presidents said in a joint statement afterwards.
Wish lists
The matters agreed at the meeting are similar to items that have appeared on various lists of post-Brexit priorities published by individual farming unions since the EU membership referendum.
Some priorities will not be shared among the four farming unions however, such as the UFU’s aim to maintain the same proportion of UK CAP funding for Northern Ireland in a domestic agricultural policy fund.
Meanwhile, NFU president Meurig Raymond has congratulated new Defra Secretary Andrea Leadsom on her appointment on Thursday and highlighted issues that will need to be addressed by the South Northamptonshire MP working with the NFU.
“At the forefront will be a new domestic agricultural policy. This should encourage growth, innovation, productivity and profitability,” he said.
Read more
NI agriculture Brexit priorities set by UFU
Hogan reassures UK farmers on CAP payments
Common lobbying priorities for a new UK domestic agricultural policy and trading arrangements post Brexit were agreed by presidents of the National Farmers Union (NFU), NFU Scotland, NFU Cymru and the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) during a meeting in Brussels on Friday.
Shared interests include access to both EU and third country markets, UK market protection from low quality imports, a new domestic agricultural policy with less bureaucratic requirements than CAP, farming legislation based on science and access to migrant labour.
“While there are no quick-fix solutions and this will be a slow process, it is essential that we have set out at this early stage what we consider to be the priorities for the negotiations and the creation of future agriculture policy in our respective countries,” the four presidents said in a joint statement afterwards.
Wish lists
The matters agreed at the meeting are similar to items that have appeared on various lists of post-Brexit priorities published by individual farming unions since the EU membership referendum.
Some priorities will not be shared among the four farming unions however, such as the UFU’s aim to maintain the same proportion of UK CAP funding for Northern Ireland in a domestic agricultural policy fund.
Meanwhile, NFU president Meurig Raymond has congratulated new Defra Secretary Andrea Leadsom on her appointment on Thursday and highlighted issues that will need to be addressed by the South Northamptonshire MP working with the NFU.
“At the forefront will be a new domestic agricultural policy. This should encourage growth, innovation, productivity and profitability,” he said.
Read more
NI agriculture Brexit priorities set by UFU
Hogan reassures UK farmers on CAP payments
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