Background Brexit
British agricultural policy is undergoing a major overhaul
UK agriculture has been hit hard by Brexit. With the withdrawal from the European Union, British farmers will no longer be able to claim direct support from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). No longer bound by the rules and dictates imposed from Brussels, the country is charting its own course. After all, that was the purpose of Brexit.
In the new plans, the British government is sweeping its agricultural policy. In particular, the loss of income support will be a major blow to many British farmers. It is estimated that some 45% of farmers in the UK will face major financial difficulties if support is stopped immediately.
Soft landing
The government has set a transition period. The sector will be gradually transformed from 2021 to 2027. In the period up to and including 2024, direct payments will be reduced by 50% compared to last year. In large companies, the support is reduced faster than in small ones. An interim evaluation of the policy will take place in 2024. Adjustments can then be made to resolve bottlenecks.
The basic principle of the new policy is that agricultural companies can operate independently and sustainably, without being dependent on subsidies. The government is making a considerable amount available to help companies with this transition. The focus is on ways to reduce costs and improve profitability. Think of subsidies for measures that improve productivity, but you can also think of investments in training to improve the level of knowledge.
Farmers who are unable or unwilling to participate in this conversion can receive assistance with business termination. This new situation reportedly also brings opportunities. The British government wants to support entrepreneurs with no past in the sector to start or take over their own agricultural business.
Subsidy only for extra services
It is not the case that there is no more money available for the sector. The British government only believes that that money should be earned by providing extra services. Farmers can receive additional payments if they maintain or improve the environment, take extra measures for animal health and welfare or reduce CO2 emissions or sequester carbon. The extra costs or lower production are then, as it were, compensated by the government.
In the European Union, the policy is set for 7 years and only minor changes are made in between. The United Kingdom wants to do things differently. The main lines and goals have been set out and the practical implementation is gradually being done. It becomes a process of trial and error. Try what works and what doesn't. All parties are involved. This is to prevent unworkable measures from being created and to create some support for the policy. The government can then make very targeted adjustments without getting bogged down in a bureaucratic body that has gotten out of hand.
British equivalent of circular agriculture
Incidentally, the new agricultural policy deviates less from what is being devised in the European Union. The new CAP also talks about additional services that farmers must provide in order to qualify for income support. The British go even further in their reform. Sustainable agriculture seems to be the magic word for the British.
Whether the British equivalent of our circular agriculture is sufficient to keep the peasantry afloat, however, remains to be seen. It could be a blueprint of what awaits us on the mainland.
Jurphaas Lugtenburg
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