Farmers are anxiously waiting for more details from the government about the upcoming changes to their subsidy payments. Many people are unwilling to trust the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to manage the transition. The leader of one of the UK’s largest agricultural organizations has said pass.
“A lot of people said to me:’Well, we don’t even know what Defra is doing,'” Mark Tufnell, the recently assumed chairman of the Rural Land and Business Association (CLA), told the Guardian. “[They say:] ‘We think that Defra doesn’t know what they are doing,’ and then asked me:’What do you know? ‘”
CLA represents approximately 28,000 farmers and owners of rural businesses in England and Wales, including some of the largest landowners and many smaller landowners, with approximately 18,000 members of less than 300 acres of arable land.Members hope to get more detailed information about support for farmers after Brexit at the organization meeting on Thursday, where Environment Minister George Eustice will clarify the reduction in basic farm payments for farmers 5% to 25% of the support they can expect before this year Completely eliminated In the next six years.
Tufnell said that for farmers, more details of the government’s plan are unlikely to come soon.Brexit is one of the biggest agricultural turmoil since the UK abolished Brexit The Corn Act of 1846, He pointed out. “Of course, after the abolition of the Corn Law, we fell into an agricultural depression that lasted from the late 1800s to the 1900s and the war.”
Brexit means that the UK has left the European Union’s common agricultural policy, according to which farmers receive about 3 billion pounds a year, which is allocated according to the amount of land they cultivate.Will pay in the future “Public funds for public goods” ——In other words, farmers take measures to restore nature, cultivate soil, improve air and water quality, and provide habitat for wildlife in exchange for taxpayer support under environmental land management contracts or ELM systems.
Tufnell said that the future of agriculture is in the hands of the government more than ever, including trade agreements, planning system issues, and the new ELM system. He said: “We may end up with more people claiming from the limited pot, which means that individuals will eventually receive less money.”
Farmers generally support the switch to a new payment system. A CLA survey of its members found that most farmers support it, but many people still worry about the details because there is little information about how ELM will work.
According to Tufnell, the basic payment will be reduced proportionally, and those who have received the most in history will receive the greatest reduction, but even this year’s minimum reduction of around 5% will cause difficulties for many people.
He said that if the government makes a mistake in the next few years because the old subsidies are phased out, there will be even greater risks. “If the government does not provide the type of support it says… it will make it more difficult for the farmers with lower profits, the bottom 25% or even 50% of the farmers. They have basic payment cuts, so they only Will get about 25% of what they originally owned.
“They will find it very difficult to continue their agricultural business. They need to find other sources of income, and I think they will find it very difficult, especially if they don’t get support when they sell their products overseas.”
The trade agreement is Another point of contentionUntil recently, although food was one of the UK’s largest commodity export industries, the British embassies around the world had only two agricultural and food commissioners to promote British agriculture and agricultural products, and the government’s goal was to reach trade with dozens of companies protocol. Countries after Brexit.
On Tuesday, Defra announced that it will appoint another eight agri-food commissioners. Tufnell said the increase was too small to provide the required representation.Farmers worry that under the new trade agreement, they will be overwhelmed by cheap food from abroad-for example Concluded with Australia this year – The details are signed in secret and there is no parliamentary review.
Tufnell said, at least, farmers want the government to help them promote British agricultural products abroad, but only 10 in the world seem to be difficult to achieve. “Ten attachments are not enough. If the government is serious about promoting our world-class products and ensuring that British farmers are not weakened, then we need more. Understandably, the government wants to promote its free trade qualifications, but seems unwilling to provide Sufficient resources to properly complete the work. This not only makes British farmers, but also makes all British industry vulnerable.”
Tufnell said that the rise in prices of many staple foods, from wheat and barley to rapeseed, beef and lamb, will at least ease the blow for many people this year.But he said that some industries will suffer greater losses, such as pig farmers, many of whom cannot Send animals to slaughter Due to a labor shortage last month, A joking topic Hosted by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Brexit This also means supply and export issues with Europe. Tufnell said he ran into problems when trying to export flaxseeds to Belgium, because trucks usually pass through France, but this involves more paperwork. Finally, it was sent by ship.
Covid has also attracted the attention of rural infrastructure. More and more people are trying to work from home or considering moving to the countryside permanently, but are hindered by the lack of broadband connection. “There is a huge difference between urban and rural [in connectivity],” he said, noting that the details of the autumn budget show that rural areas lost approximately 315 million pounds in the Shared Prosperity Fund for upgrades.
“We really feel that this is not in line with the upgrade agenda-this is almost a downgrade.”
