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Brexit deal provides certainty, Gove to tell farmers | Brexit deal provides certainty, Gove to tell farmers |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Theresa May's Brexit deal gives farmers certainty about the future, Environment Secretary Michael Gove will say. | Theresa May's Brexit deal gives farmers certainty about the future, Environment Secretary Michael Gove will say. |
In a speech to the Oxford Farming Conference, Mr Gove will argue the agreement struck last year will ensure a smooth transition period for agriculture after the UK leaves the EU. | In a speech to the Oxford Farming Conference, Mr Gove will argue the agreement struck last year will ensure a smooth transition period for agriculture after the UK leaves the EU. |
He will also say Brexit will provide farmers with a "world of opportunity". | He will also say Brexit will provide farmers with a "world of opportunity". |
Mr Gove will pledge investment in robotics, artificial intelligence and other innovation, to boost yields. | Mr Gove will pledge investment in robotics, artificial intelligence and other innovation, to boost yields. |
In his speech, the environment secretary will promise to "continue to demonstrate the case for, and put in place the policies that underpin, long-term investment in British agriculture and the rural economy". | In his speech, the environment secretary will promise to "continue to demonstrate the case for, and put in place the policies that underpin, long-term investment in British agriculture and the rural economy". |
He will say: "A week can be a long time in politics, but farming requires the patience and foresight to see beyond the immediate and scan the far horizon. | He will say: "A week can be a long time in politics, but farming requires the patience and foresight to see beyond the immediate and scan the far horizon. |
"It is a quintessentially long-term business, one that benefits from as much certainty as possible about the future." | "It is a quintessentially long-term business, one that benefits from as much certainty as possible about the future." |
The UK is scheduled to leave the EU on 29 March, with MPs due to vote in the Commons in mid-January on the prime minister's withdrawal bill. | The UK is scheduled to leave the EU on 29 March, with MPs due to vote in the Commons in mid-January on the prime minister's withdrawal bill. |
Urging MPs to support the prime minister's deal, Mr Gove will acknowledge it "isn't perfect". | Urging MPs to support the prime minister's deal, Mr Gove will acknowledge it "isn't perfect". |
But he will highlight the fact that it ensures that farmers' current access to the EU is unaffected during the 21-month transition period that will take effect if the deal is approved. | |
Mr Gove will also say he believes the deal will allow UK exporters to maintain continuous tariff-free and quota-free access to EU markets. | Mr Gove will also say he believes the deal will allow UK exporters to maintain continuous tariff-free and quota-free access to EU markets. |
He will add, "it allows us largely to diverge from EU regulation after the transition, to leave the Common Agricultural Policy and end all mandatory payments to the EU". | |
The government has guaranteed to pay subsidies to farmers at current EU levels until 2022. | |
After that there will be a "transitional period" in England, with an increasing link between funds and maintaining "public goods", such as access to the countryside and planting meadows. | |
Food standards | |
The National Farmers Union has long highlighted fears about the potential disruption of Brexit, and delays at borders if a deal is not reached. | |
It is also calling for legislation to ensure the same standards are applied to imported food as home-grown produce, after Brexit. | |
"At the moment we've had a lot of warm words on standards," the NFU's president Minette Batters told BBC Radio 4's Today. | |
"We've had a commitment from various ministers saying that we would not want a trade deal that brought food in produced to lower standards but the real challenge is how. | |
"Agriculture's always the last chapter in any trade deal....so we feel it's really important. We don't want anybody lying down in front of a bus, as they've suggested. We want it put in writing." | |
Campaigners are calling on Mr Gove to set up an independent regulator to ensure minimum standards to protect water, soil, wildlife and animal welfare are maintained after Brexit. | |
The Nature Friendly Farming Network is warning that long-term food security will be at risk unless "ambitious" guidelines for the industry are set out in the Agriculture Bill, which outlines the policy for the industry after Brexit. | The Nature Friendly Farming Network is warning that long-term food security will be at risk unless "ambitious" guidelines for the industry are set out in the Agriculture Bill, which outlines the policy for the industry after Brexit. |