Green Pages Feed Trade Topics from the Island of Ireland


IRISH FARMERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT WARNS OF “DOG’S DINNER” OUTCOME ON BREXIT


Speaking in Whitehall at an event entitled “Beyond Brexit: Farming for our Future,” Irish Farmers Association (IFA) President Joe Healy warned of the danger of a “dog’s dinner” outcome to Brexit that would cause confusion and trade disruption.


“There is always a concern in the endgame of the withdrawal agreement negotiations, that we will end up with a last-minute fudge that has unintended consequences. We must guard against this. The best way to do this is to have an extendable transition phase, or ‘whole- of-UK’ backstop, to allow time to negotiate the closest possible future trade arrangements,” he said.


“The two sides must avoid a ‘dog’s dinner’ of an agreement,” he continued, “which means different things to different people and results in disputes and running repairs which disrupt trade.”


The event was organised by the National Farmers Union (NFU), and the presence of farm leaders from Ireland (IFA), France (FNSEA), Germany (DBV),


the Netherlands (LTO) and Denmark (Danish


Agriculture) is significant in terms of highlighting the potential impacts for the agri-food sector across Europe.


“IFA is very clear that farmers’ interests in the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (U.K.) lie in keeping full access between the EU and the U.K., while maintaining the value of the U.K. food market,” said Healy. “We want to see no hard border on the island of Ireland and frictionless trade across the Irish Sea — and for that matter, between Dover and Calais. For this to happen, the U.K. must abandon its ambition of a cheap food policy which undercuts European food standards or offers increased imports that would destabilise our food markets and damage all European farmers.”


Healy said it simply doesn’t add up for the EU to allow the U.K. to have privileged access to the European market if it’s going to undermine it. “I believe EU and U.K. farm leaders have a shared interest in ensuring that the U.K., which is an important market for all European farmers, does not pursue policies which will further drive down food prices,” he said. “Importing food and food ingredients from countries with lower production costs and lower standards will undermine the value of the U.K. food market for EU and U.K. farmers.


“If our citizens want to continue to have a safe supply of high-quality, traceable food, produced to highest environmental and animal welfare standards, then they will have to pay prices for their food which keeps farmers in business,” Healy continued. “We must send a strong message that a cheap food policy is a race to the bottom, which will ultimately lead to the destruction of EU and U.K. farming and lower-quality food for the consumer.”


U.K. GOVERNMENT MUST RECOGNISE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE IN NORTHERN IRELAND


The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) says maintaining farm incomes must be a key objective of Northern Ireland’s future agriculture policy as the U.K. prepares to leave the EU.


“It is critical that the U.K. government grasps the major differences between farming in Northern Ireland compared to the rest of the U.K.,”


PAGE 22 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 FEED COMPOUNDER


said UFU President Ivor Ferguson. “Farms are smaller here and more reliant on direct support. What is being proposed for England would decimate our industry, which is based around small, family-run farm businesses.”


These comments were made following the publication of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee (NIAC) report on Brexit and agriculture in Northern Ireland. The UFU presented evidence to the committee in June 2018 and has welcomed the report recommendations, which are broadly in line with the organisation’s position. The report makes a strong argument that government policy on what are known as “public goods” should to be modified for Northern Ireland to include “the survival of farms as an essential rural asset.”


The report recommends that the government, as a priority, make known how they plan to allocate direct financial agricultural support post- 2022, and at what level, to allow the devolved administration time to plan and develop support mechanisms — and to commit to area payments beyond 2022, with particular focus on small and marginal land farms. “Farming is the cornerstone of Northern Ireland’s economy,” Ferguson said. “Proportionately, it makes a bigger contribution here than in any of the other U.K. regions, and our future domestic agriculture policy must reflect this. We have always argued that farming in Northern Ireland is a ‘public good’ and should be recognised as such. Farmers cannot be green when they are financially in the red.”


The UFU was also encouraged by the recommendation that the government should proactively engage with Northern Ireland to support the development of policy options and the roll-out of future pilot programmes.


“We see this as key and, in particular, support the idea of


incentivising longer-term tenancy agreements, which could be ready to run during 2019-2020 financial year,” Ferguson said.


However, without a functioning executive, there is a real danger that Northern Ireland’s farming industry could be overlooked.


“Despite the recent Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) consultation on future agriculture policy, without an executive, it is unclear what decisions can be taken or what can be implemented,” Ferguson said. “Given the political impasse, we are disappointed with the lack of formal channels for feeding in Northern Ireland’s priorities to U.K. policy-making and the limited engagement by the U.K. government and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).”


The impact of Brexit has the potential to be felt more acutely in Northern Ireland than in the rest of the U.K. Ferguson said that the UFU has always recognised that Brexit will present both opportunities and challenges. “Whatever Brexit deal is agreed, it must ensure that frictionless trade is maintained between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, as well as Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland,” Ferguson said. “Future import and export trading arrangements are also a key focus of this report, and it is encouraging that the report’s recommendations largely concur with the UFU’s position.”


Ferguson added that the government of the United Kingdom cannot afford to ignore the report recommendations. “Time is tight, but I would urge the U.K. government to take action based on the recommendations,” he said. “Brexit is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; we want to ensure


United


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