The president of the NFU Meurig Raymond told Defra secretary Michael Gove that Britain must not “walk away” from the EU, urging him to unveil a new British agricultural policy.
Raymond told the annual NFU conference in Birmingham “time is running out” for Gove to strike a new trade deal with the EU, calling for a continuation of frictionless trade with Europe or face “chaos”.
He continued: “This is serious. For too long, ministers have claimed to have a plan. So we ask again, let’s hear that plan. We have 400 days until we leave the EU. We have a lot less time than that to get a trade deal. Time is running out.
“We must not walk away from by far our biggest market, a market with 450 million customers on our doorstep – the EU.
“We must have frictionless trade with the EU. Everything else including the final shape of any domestic agricultural policy is dependant on that.
“Britain’s farms need access to the EU market, we need access to a reliable workforce and we need measures to help our food and farming industry to be more productive.”
Raymond told Gove, the secretary for environment, food and rural affairs, that a positive Brexit would entail increased self-sufficiency alongside access to a reliable workforce, in the face of farmers struggling to recruit seasonal labour.
“A good Brexit means farming and food production builds on the £112 billion it already contributes to the economy. A workable Brexit means we have access to a competent and reliable workforce to harvest our fresh produce,’ Raymond said.
“A successful Brexit means Britain’s self-sufficiency in food has increased rather than decreased.”
He opened his speech British farming can “power Britain” after Brexit.
He called on Gove to clamp down on “criminal gangs” he accused of lorry fly tipping, which he called “shocking, appalling and completely unacceptable”.
“We urge you to sort out this problem. Take on the criminal gangs who are using the British countryside as their rubbish dump”.
Raymond highlighted British farmers’ environmental improvements, saying farmers had been unfairly accused of practises that were “outdated and absolutely wrong”.
“Under agri-environment schemes in England, more than 30,000 kilometres of hedgerows have been planted or restored. There are around 270,000 hectares managed voluntarily under the Campaign for the Farmed Environment. Total Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture have fallen by 17 per cent since 1990.”
