UK to continue farm subsidies for five years after Brexit

The British government said this week it will match European Union subsidies for farmers for around five years after Brexit until it puts in place a new system focusing more on environmental protection.

British farmers receive around £3 billion (3.37 billion euros, US$4.06 billion) a year from the bloc’s Common Agricultural Policy, of which around threequarters is delivered through direct payments, according to the National Farmers Union (NFU).

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said the government would match these so-called Basic Payment Scheme funds for “a number of years” beyond a two-year transition intended to ease Britain’s withdrawal.

A government official said this would likely be around five years after Brexit to 2024, although the proposals will depend on a consultation due to be launched later this year.

“That guaranteed income should provide time for farmers to change their business model if necessary, help to make the investment necessary for any adjustments and prepare for the future,” Gove told a farming conference in Oxford.

Britain will leave the CAP when it leaves the EU in March 2019, but is seeking a transition period in which the relationship with Brussels will continue on similar terms.

Gove said the CAP was “fundamentally flawed”, adding: “Paying landowners for the amount of agricultural land they have is unjust, inefficient, and drives perverse outcomes.”