Farming will need decade to adjust to post-EU era

A TRANSITION period of at least 10 years is needed so that UK farming can adjust to post-Brexit policies, according to the FUW.

During this time agricultural support must be maintained in line with other EU countries, said the union.

A hard Brexit would leave rural Wales vulnerable to collapsing incomes, said FUW president Glyn Roberts.

“Agriculture needs to be allowed to adjust to new policies post-Brexit,” he said.

“With large numbers of politicians seeing Brexit as an opportunity to introduce changes which would have devastating impacts for agriculture and rural communities, the need to inform people of the dangers has never been greater.”

At the forefront of concerns is the need for tariff-free exports to support Wales’ EU-dependent livestock sector.

Exports to the EU account for more than 90% of the country’s red meat trade and as much as a third of the Welsh flock.

The FUW has doubts as to whether the loss of EU markets can be “realistically replaced” by markets further afield, given the costs and logistics.

A third of the country’s population live in rural areas where farming and agri-supply businesses are the backbone of local economies.

In towns and villages across rural Wales, it is estimated that around 10% of workers are employed in agriculture – around 14% of those employed outside the public sector.

The Welsh Lib Dems said the country’s agricultural sector must be protected in the UK’s Brexit negotiations.

The party is also calling for British people to have a vote on the final deal.

Rural affairs spokesman William Powell said plans to withdraw from the single market risked causing “irreparable damage” to the agricultural industry in Wales.

Mr Powell added: “Agriculture will be the litmus test for Theresa May’s Brexit government.

“Will her negotiating position be driven by delivering an economy that creates opportunity for all, or be driven by ideology?”

The FUW believes the Westminster and Welsh governments can help smooth the transition by proactively supporting UK farming through public procurement policies that favour domestic produce.