Responding to Nigel Farage, Downing Street yesterday said that Brexit has been a success, citing the ability of the UK to shape its own farm policies as a benefit.
Really? A hollowed out Defra has found this a challenging task. The new policies have been rolled out slowly. The ELMS scheme is complicated and the relationship between policy instruments and desired outcomes is uncertain, albeit that is not an unfamiliar problem. Measures to tackle the farm productivity problem are limited in scope and funding.
Downing Street also held its much vaunted food summit yesterday. The farming press dismissed it as a 'talking shop' and admittedly my heart sinks when I hear the phrase 'breakout groups'. All too often this means poorly focused discussions and brief feedbacks lacking clarity. However, one needs to talk to identify feasible policies, although acting on ideas is another matter.
Rishi Sunak did offer an extra 10,000 visas for seasonal workers next year on top of the 45,000 already available. It is estimated that £60m of produce remained unpicked last year.
The National Farmers' Union would like a minimum five year rolling scheme. This would allow greater certainty to plan forward production.
Meat processors have struggled to recruit butchers because of the language requirements posed by immigration rules. The sector has become reliant on butchers from the Philippines (also a source of labour for the dairy sector) but each work costs £12,000 to bring to the UK.
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