Farmers better off

Tory George Eustice MP, the Minister of State for Farming, Food and the Marine Environment, and campaigner for Vote Leave, has been talking about how British farmers could be better off if the UK left the European Union.

By The Newsroom

Published 28th Mar 2016, 06:32 BST

Updated 1st Apr 2016, 19:10 BST

He said: “The UK government will continue to give farmers and the environment as much support – or perhaps even more – as they get now, after all, non-EU countries like Switzerland and Norway actually give more support to their farmers than we do.”

Agriculture in Norway and Switzerland is among the most protected in the world.

According to the OECD, 60 per cent of Norwegian farmers’ income is generated by state subsidies and other policies.

For Swiss farmers it’s 55 per cent.

Meanwhile, the average farmer in an EU member state can expect state subsidies to make up around 19 per centof their annual income.

Maybe if we subsidised our farmers the Norwegian or Swiss way they wouldn’t have to employ cheap foreign labour, or would they?

Terry Palmer

South Lea Avenue, Hoyland, Barnsley, S74