NFU President Meurig Raymond was in Strasbourg today to rally support from MEPs to sign the ‘Back British Farming EU pledge.’
By signing the pledge, 33 MEPs have committed themselves to using their position in European Parliament to champion the cause for British agriculture.
Mr Raymond said: “I am delighted to see that MEPs from all over the country were so keen to sign our Back British Farming pledge.
“By putting their name to it, we know that we’ve got vocal champions for British farming on our side in Brussels.
“Our members and staff will be making sure that our MEPs live up to their promises, holding them to account on the many vital issues affecting the farming industry such as delivering rewarding trade deals, securing an easier path towards sustainable growth, building fairness in to the supply chain, ending the current paralysing approach to crop protection and finally, taking the earliest opportunity to review the CAP and its misguided greening measures.
“This pledge goes beyond just those MEPs who sit on the Agriculture Committee – this is a wider commitment to deliver for British farming and we will make sure they do that.”
The pledge has five calls to action:
- Fight for fairness: Ensure fair contracts, fair returns and fair play in food supply chains;
- Encourage farmers: Create the conditions that underpin long-term sustainable growth, not stifle it;
- Boost trade: Secure balanced agreements with other countries that recognise high quality British production standards;
- Focus on science: Base decisions which affect food production on robust scientific evidence;
- Improve the CAP: Review greening; make the CAP simpler and fairer, helping farmers become more competitive.
