Ulster Unionist Leader Robin Swann has welcomed Michael Gove’s announcement at the Oxford Farming Conference that most direct payments will be maintained until March 2024, but has accused the DEFRA Secretary of insulting farmers for labelling them all as inefficient.
The North Antrim MLA said:
“The announcement that direct payments to farmers in England will be maintained to 2024 is welcome. At the time of the referendum the existing level of payments were initially guaranteed until 2020 and this was then extended by a further two years until 2022 as a result of the last general election.
“By setting a final date of 2024 it means that farmers will have guaranteed support at the same level as EU member states for five years after Brexit. However his comments only specifically referred to those in England so it is essential that this commitment is also quickly made for farmers in Northern Ireland. This is something I fear the ongoing absence of a Minister or local Executive will likely delay however.
“A firm pledge to support local farmers until 2024 would provide a degree of welcome certainty, however there were other comments made in the same speech by the DEFRA Secretary which were deeply disappointing.
“His comment that paying farmers for the amount of land they have is ‘unjust, inefficient and drives perverse outcomes’ was especially galling. In fact it’s grossly offensive as he is effectively labelling all farmers inefficient, when in reality the UK has some of the most efficient farms and farming techniques in the world.
“I have said in the past Michael Gove needed to move away from soundbites and generalisations and after these recent comments it’s clear that he has still some way to go.
“We are little more than a year away from the UK leaving the European Union and major ambiguity remains, especially in relation to trade. Whilst the commitment that trade between the EU and the UK in agricultural goods will remain tariff-free, firm proposals on how this will actually be achieved and maintained are needed.
“If the UK market was to be suddenly flooded with cheaper and lower welfare food imports, UK farmers would not only be greatly damaged but so too would the consumer as the standard of these foods would undoubtedly be far lower.
“This is a crucially important time for the future of UK agriculture. Decisions taken now and over the next 12 months will have a direct impact on the future of entire generations of farming families. Whilst this most recent speech from the DEFRA Secretary showed some limited progress, major gaps in the future of UK agriculture policy remain.”