The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Plea to parties over farm policies
Election: New group says rural businesses need to know long-term proposals
Farm leaders from across the UK have called on all political parties to set out their agricultural and rural policies ahead of the snap general election on June 8.
A group of organisations, including NFU Scotland and Scottish Land and Estates, have formed a Farming Brexit Roundtable to share concerns and promote collective action ahead of the election.
They have described the next six weeks as a uniquely important time for farming’s voice to be heard in the “most pivotal election campaign for decades”.
In a joint statement, the group said: “Our organisations welcome the commitment to honour EU payments until 2020, but farming is a long-term business. Frankly, the value of the assurance, given in August 2016, diminishes with each passing day.
“Farm businesses need to know the long-term plans of our political parties over the next decade, not just the next two years. So we urge all parties to make their plans clear in their respective manifestos to give farmers the stability required to instil confidence for the future.”
They said continued access to the EU marketplace was a priority for the farming sector post-Brexit.
“The vast majority of food exports are to the EU, lamb and cereals being good examples,” added the group.
“So every sector needs there to be free and frictionless trade with the EU to thrive long-term, or face economic calamity of over-supplied domestic markets. Whatever the final outcome of the general election, the next government must secure a phased transition to the new trading agreements.”
The Farming Brexit Roundtable will continue to meet regularly during Brexit negotiations.
Other membership organisations involved in the group are: NFU; NFU Cymru; Country Land and Business Association; British Poultry Council; National Beef Association; National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs; National Pig Association; Royal Association British Dairy Farmers; Soil Association; and Tenant Farmers Association.
“Make their plans clear in their respective manifestos”