FARMERS from North Yorkshire expressed concern about a future outside the European Union at a meeting with their MP.
The Northallerton members of the NFU met Rishi Sunak last Friday, the day the Richmond MP set out his reasons for voting to leave the EU in the June referendum.
A number were concerned about what would replace the Common Agricultural Policy in the event that Britain voted to leave.
Martin Lowcock, county chairman of the North Riding and County Durham branch of the NFU, asked Mr Sunak about the risks in leaving.
He said: “Can we be confident that a UK government would continue to fund UK agriculture to the same level. There are no guarantees that would happen.”
Referring to his regular column published in that day’s Darlington & Stockton Times which set out the arguments for his decision to vote for Britain to leave, Mr Sunak acknowledged there were risks.
But he said he firmly believed that overall farmers would be better off.
“There are no guarantees but I believe a British Agricultural Policy could be very good for British farmers,” he said. “We could have a situation where farmers receive similar levels of support but without the burden of regulation which stems from the CAP.
“At present we have to abide by a regulatory system designed for farmers in 28 nations. We could have a system that is right for agriculture in the UK.”
Mr Sunak was asked whether he felt farming would lose out to other areas of Government spending like health and education after leaving the EU.
Mr Sunak said UK farmers currently received £2.5bn a year in CAP payments. As the UK Government’s overall budget was £750bn he felt a UK parliament would vote to continue support.
“I think most people accept that we need to have a viable farming industry,” he said. “We want to eat British food and we value the countryside which is the way it is because of farming.”
He said it might have been different ten or more years ago but he felt a UK parliament today would back British farmers and vote for a British Agricultural Policy to replace the CAP which would have the additional benefit of being able to frame a more suitable regulatory framework.
Mr Sunak also spoke to the meeting about his selection for the watchdog Efra Select Committee, and its investigation of farmgate prices, particularly in the dairy sector, and the most recent problems with flooding.
Other topics discussed included green energy and the balance between farming for food and farming for the environment.