What has the EU done for us? It has subsidised our farming.

The EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) represents almost 40% of the EU budget. Money from the European Union is allocated both as direct payments to farmers and for rural development. A parliamentary research briefing paper* suggests that leaving the current setup would probably reduce farm incomes, as a UK outside the EU is unlikely to match the current levels of subsidy.

The CAP has undergone some reforms and many argue that it would benefit from further revision. But did you know that under CAP, £20 billion will be received between 2014 and 2020, with £18 billion of that allocated for direct payments? Or that young farmers can claim additional help for their first five years in farming? Or that small farmers can receive an annual payment? Or that landowners with no agricultural activity on their land are no longer eligible for payments? Or that 30% of direct payments are now linked to three specific environmentally-friendly farming practices? These are:

• crop diversification
• maintaining permanent grassland
• conserving 5% of the land for ecology.**

It's possible, of course, that a UK outside the European Union could allocate the same level of financial support to our countryside -- but would they?

As a "largely rural" area, a reduction in farm income and rural development funding could have an adverse effect on the economy and on the prosperity of Suffolk Coastal.

Sources:

* http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7213 [accessed 03 March 2016]

** What does the EU mean for the countryside?, published by European Commission Publications Office, 2014; download from http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/what-does-the-eu-mean-for-the-countryside--pbIK0113804/ [accessed 03 March 2016]