Sustain members work with other farming organisations on post-Brexit policy

15 organisations formed a UK Farming Roundtable and met at the headquarters of the Ulster Farmers’ Union in Belfast this month.

They agreed on a statement which calls on the four UK governments to “take every step to retain and protect a single market access for food, agricultural commodities, live animals and plant products throughout the UK.”

The roundtable concluded that a UK policy framework for farming should include:

• The current devolution settlement of policy and regulation to the constituent parts of the United Kingdom should be respected and maintained.
• The UK’s various Governments, Parliaments and regulators should take every step to retain and protect a single market access for food, agricultural commodities, live animals and plant and plant products throughout the UK.
• In developing distinct agricultural policies to replace the Common Agricultural Policy, Farming Ministers across the UK should ensure that potential differences in application of agricultural policy should not adversely impact on trade within the UK. 
• Farming Ministers across the UK and agricultural departments must establish and maintain regular, formal and cooperative arrangements to manage policy, legislation and delivery of regulation across the UK economic area. A guiding principle should be that no single country determines or curtail UK policy in the rest of the UK.
• No part of the UK should be able to act, or avoid action, that threatens to curtail access for other parts of the UK to third country markets, or that question the UK’s adherence to its international agreements. 
• To welcome the government’s commitment to provide the same cash total in funds for farm support as is currently paid out under the CAP.  In the longer term, with the development of a new domestic agricultural policy, at least the same level of public investment in agriculture should be retained.

The signatories to the statement are LEAF, Soil Association, ENFU, NFU Cymru, NFU Scotland, CLA, British Poultry Council, National Sheep Association, Scottish Land and Estates,, Tenant Farmers Association, Ulster Farmers Union, National Pig Association, British Egg Industry Council, RABDF, and the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs.

Find out more about the work Sustain is doing to secure a positive Brexit for food, farming and fishing, including how to tell your MP that you want a say in future trade deals.