Brexit: agriculture and environment
Over the last forty years, the European Union’s (EU) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has profoundly shaped the UK’s countryside, farming sector and food system – for better or worse. While the CAP supports farmers’ incomes across the UK (on average to the tune of 50-60%) and provides mid-term certainty, it has frequently been criticised for its complexity, its impact on the price of food and its negative environmental effects.
In the on-going Brexit discussions, agriculture and fisheries stand apart. Whatever kind of Brexit is negotiated, responsibility for agriculture and fisheries will return to the UK.
This policy brief provides an impartial expert review of a number of existing proposals and is informed by a stakeholder workshop with practitioners from the farming and NGO sectors. It sets out the challenges and opportunities of Brexit for agriculture, highlighting short-term priorities for the ongoing negotiations and longer-term policy goals for farming and rural areas.
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