Michael Gove’s appointment as the new Defra Secretary of State has had a mixed reaction from the meat, food and farming sectors.
In an open letter to Michael Gove,
the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president Meurig Raymond has called for Defra to work with the Union and its members, to champion farming within the Government and to work closely with the devolved Governments across the UK.Pointing out that the “shared aim is to ensure a productive, progressive and profitable future for British farmers and assurance to British consumers”, Raymond noted: “With farming arguably the sector most impacted by Brexit, NFU members need certainty as soon as possible that this Government will make Brexit a success for British food and farming.“To achieve our potential, we need a future post-Brexit trade arrangement that delivers the best possible access to the vital EU market, as well as continued access to a competent and reliable workforce.”Raymond also called on the new Government to support British farming though a number of other measures, including the implementation of the Government’s 25-Year TB Eradication strategy, licensing and access to plant production products.He added: “The NFU has consistently advocated for regulation to be based on robust, scientific evidence and consequently I very much hope you will be able to give your support to the reauthorisation of glyphosate which is a very important product for British farmers to have access to.”
In addition, the National Sheep Association (NSA) has called for the new Secretary of State to get behind British sheep farming and asked for reassurances that give sheep farmers “confidence of his enthusiasm for the sector”.NSA noted that it is “vital for Gove to demonstrate an understanding of the issues facing agriculture and that he is fully conversant with contributions the UK sheep industry makes to the economy”.
NSA’s chief executive, Phil Stocker, commented: “There may well be more to Michael Gove’s empathy with farming than meets the eye, but NSA immediately received an alarming number of concerned contact from members on the day following his appointment.“We share this concern and are asking Mr Gove to urgently give the sheep industry some confidence that he understands the value of our sector - I’d like to see an immediate commitment to achieve tariff free trade routes into the EU post Brexit.”
Stocker also called for “some clear statements of intent urgently”, after pointing out that “there are two distinctly differing views within senior members of Government, those who advocate raising production standards and quality and those who see Brexit as a chance to import increasingly cheaper food into the UK”.
Adding to the reaction, the director general of Food and Drink Federation, Ian Wright CBE, said: “It is a big boost that the Prime Minister has appointed one of the Cabinet's heaviest hitters to a ministry so significantly at the heart of Brexit.“We very much look forward to working with Mr Gove and his new team.”
Commenting on both Gove’s appointment and the Democratic Unionist Party’s (DUP) involvement in the Government, the
head of Policy at the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS), Norman Bagley, noted that the DUP is “very pro-farming” and added: “Even if George Eustice remains following Gove’s appointment, his anti-commercial farming agenda may well be thwarted”.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
