Andrew Robinson, deputy director of rural development programme policy, said Defra needed to ‘understand its liabilities’ with regard to long-term schemes and he hoped an update on the position would be available soon.
The NFU’s head of policy services Dr Andrea Graham told the meeting that whilst it was unlikely Brexit would result in a ‘bonfire of red tape’ it did present an opportunity to make sure that policies were put in place that would result in a resilient, competitive, sustainable farming sector that was better able to cope with volatility in world markets.
Other speakers at the meeting, which was chaired by SWRFN chairman David Fursdon, included Chris Head, executive director of the West of England Rural Network and Simon Hooton, director of Ash Futures.