If the show of hands at the end of the debate about the upcoming referendum on UK membership of the EU earlier this week is anything to go by, most farmers in NI are siding with the Leave camp.

The debate, organised by the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) and held at the Eikon Exhibition Centre at Balmoral Park, got off to a bad start after the speaker for Remain, ex-NFU president Sir Peter Kendall, managed to miss his flight to Belfast.

Instead he engaged in debate with former Defra Secretary Owen Paterson via Skype. It was not an ideal scenario, but in the end, no doubt it was still a worthwhile event.

Paterson is a firm supporter of the Leave side. He argued that the UK should take back control of its own affairs away from unelected bureaucrats in Brussels. He believes that the eurozone countries in the EU are heading towards some form of political union, so the UK will be increasingly isolated going forward if it remains.

Irish border controls

He referred on a number of occasions to the fact that EU Farm Commissioner Phil Hogan was unable recently to give any guarantee about CAP money beyond 2021.

On trade, Paterson made the point that 5m jobs in mainland Europe depend on sales to the UK, so trade will continue even if there is a vote to leave. He also dismissed any suggestion of controls on the Irish border, insisting that modern technology can be used to track the movement of goods.

He insisted that the British government will continue to support farmers, pointing out that the UK is only 62% self-sufficient in food. “There has to be a commitment from government to feed the nation,” he said.

CAP payments

It was on the issue of support to farmers where Kendall perhaps had some success in picking holes in the Paterson arguments. He pointed out that the British government (and Owen Paterson) has consistently argued for an end to CAP payments. He maintained that in trade agreements, nothing can be done quickly and the British government will look to protect big financial institutions, not farmers. He also noted recent comments from Paterson’s colleague, Michael Gove, when he said that a Brexit would lead to cheaper food in the UK.

The UK also has the worst funded rural development programmes in Europe because the British government wants to protect their rebate negotiated by Margaret Thatcher. “I don’t want to end up with a half-baked New Zealand-style experiment in the UK,” said Kendall.

He also highlighted the power of the animal welfare and environmental lobbies in Westminster, and the possibility that we could end up with Labour’s Kerry McCarthy (a committed vegan) as the next Defra Minister.

Kendall’s vision is to remain in the EU and negotiate a better CAP reform package and look for ongoing reform.

On a wider issue, he also referred to the recent tensions caused by Russian aggression in eastern Europe and the stability that has come from 28 countries being part of the EU.

On balance, Kendall probably made the more coherent arguments, but that was not enough to convince the majority of farmers at the meeting that their future lies in the EU.

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