09 January 2017
With the resignation of Sir Ivan Rogers, the UK’s ambassador to the EU, and his accusation that the Government does not know what post-Brexit looks like, step forward the environment secretary, Andrea Leadsom, to shed a spotlight on EU regulations and in particular the ‘three-crop rule’ and the UK’s desire to dispense with it.
This rule, which was agreed back in 2013, states that some larger farms must grow a variety of crops to encourage local biodiversity but many British farmers are against it. Leadsom would propose the rule be scrapped to allow farmers to decide what they want to grow more of, to sell more of and to export more of. Leadsom commented: “Over the past six years we’ve done everything we can to reduce this burden, but I’m quite sure everyone here can still think of at least one piece of EU regulation you won’t miss. Now, as we prepare to leave the EU, I will be looking at scrapping the rules that hold us back and focusing instead on what works best for the UK.”
Additionally, the Commons environmental audit committee has warned that farmer’s incomes may very well fall post Brexit, but Leadsom maintained the pledge that farmers will receive the same level of financial support until at least 2020; commenting that her department’s rural development programme would provide an additional £120m to support rural growth.
She continued by pledging to cut more Brussels red tape to free up the farmer. Leadsom commented: “By cutting the red tape that comes out of Brussels, we will free our farmers to grow more, sell more and export more great British food whilst upholding our high standards for plant and animal health and welfare.”
All the time Brexit holds many mysteries and all the time farmers, like many businessmen, crave certainty, the future still remains shrouded in mist and ambiguity.
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