Two leading UK politicians have promised that UK farmers will continue to receive farm subsidies until at least 2020.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond and the Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom under which agriculture falls, have both said this weekend that UK farming will continue to receive subsidies.
“The Government will also match the current level of agricultural funding until 2020, providing certainty to our agricultural community who play a vital role in our country,” Philip Hammond, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer said. He said that funding under CAP Pillar 1 would be upheld until 2020.
Environment Secretary, Andrea Leadsom said: “This guarantee of funding is excellent news for our farmers and our environment.”
According to Leadsom, it means farmers are assured of current levels of farming subsidies until 2020 and any agri-environment schemes agreed before the Autumn Statement will be fully funded – even when these projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU.
“I’m delighted we can provide this crucial certainty and continuity to our rural communities while we develop a new approach to supporting agriculture and protecting our precious countryside.”
She said food and farming are central to our national identity and together they are a bedrock of our economy, generating over £100 billion a year and employing one in eight people.
“I look forward to working with the industry, rural communities and the wider public to shape our plans for food, farming and the environment outside the EU.”
