The NFU will launch farming’s most significant consultation over the impact of Brexit on agriculture and what a domestic farming policy should look like in the future outside the EU.
At today’s extraordinary Council meeting, NFU President Meurig Raymond said the Government must not ignore the economic importance of the farming sector.
It is the bedrock of the UK’s largest manufacturing industry, food and drink, which is worth £108billion. This industry employs 3.9million people.
NFU President Meurig Raymond said: "NFU Council has today agreed the principles of a domestic farming policy which will now form the basis of the biggest farming consultation in England and Wales for a generation.
"Currently there are lots of uncertainties for farming – trade agreements, labour, financial support, legislation are all up in the air – but the NFU is committed to providing this industry with leadership.
"The NFU will consult its members, in every sector, in every county, to ensure that its members have a say in shaping the future of farming for them, their children and their grandchildren and for Britain’s children and grandchildren.
"I urge all NFU members to get involved in this consultation over the coming months and that non-members should join the NFU to ensure their voice is heard.
"With this consultation, we can be sure that the policy we push for will have the backing of the farming sector at large.
"The contribution of this country’s farming and food industry to the economy and to food security should be taken extremely seriously by the UK government.
"We need a policy that ensures a profitable, productive and sustainable future for British farming. The NFU’s influence, with the backing of its membership, is paramount in this."
The agreed principles from NFU Council are:
• Farmers must get the best possible access to markets in the rest of Europe. Although the UK will not be a member of the EU, it will still be a major trading partner for the foreseeable future.
• Currently the UK benefit from more than 50 trade agreements with countries in the
rest of the world. Farmers will continue to need these kind of arrangements in future, whether this means negotiating new deals or not.
• A key question we had to the Leave camp, and on which we never received a clear answer, was what kind of access would an independent UK give to imports from the rest of the world? Our requirement is that we are not open to imports which are produced to lower standards.
• During the referendum the NFU has repeatedly drawn attention to the sector’s need for access to migrant labour, both seasonal and full-time. Outside the EU farmers will need some kind of student agricultural workers scheme, which is open to students from around the world.
• Leaving the EU gives farmers the opportunity to build a new domestic agricultural policy which is adapted to British people's needs, easy to understand and simple to administer. The NFU will be looking for guarantees that the support given to British farmers is on a par with that given to farmers in the EU, who will still be the UK's principal competitors.
• The NFU says it wants to see a rural development policy which focuses on enhancing competitiveness. Britain has been a pioneer in agri-environmental schemes, but these are currently running out of steam - in part because of over prescriptive EU rules. "We must take this opportunity to devise better schemes," the NFU said.
• If there was one message which came over loud and clear in farmer meetings it was frustration with European regulation and its handling of product approvals, due to an over-politicised approach and excessive use of the precautionary principle. British farmers now have a golden opportunity to ensure arrangements are in future proportionate and based on sound science.
