Agricultural economists from over 24 countries met in Dublin yesterday, April 24, to discuss the implications of Brexit on agriculture in the European Union.

They met at the Agricultural Economics Society annual conference, titled ‘Brexit and Beyond: Perspectives on the future of agricultural policy and trade policy’, which was held in the RDS.

The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan, gave the keynote address at the event, which was organised in conjunction with Teagasc.

“A priority of the commission was to mitigate the damage to the Irish and European economies, and particularly the agri-food economy – arising from the Brexit decision of the UK electorate,” Commissioner Hogan said.

He also welcomed the ‘greater realism‘ of the UK position, concerning its future economic relationship with the EU.

Meanwhile, Irish MEP, Mairead McGuinness, believes the Brexit vote wasn’t about economics but about emotion.

She added that the outcome of the negotiations will also depend on emotion, between the UK and EU.

On the upcoming CAP reform, McGuinness stressed the need for the CAP to continue to support farm incomes, productivity and the environment.

Impact of Brexit at farm level

While all Irish farm types would be negatively affected by the impact of Brexit, the Irish beef sector appeared to be particularly vulnerable, Teagasc’s Dr. Fiona Thorne said.

The beef sector could experience a fall in prices due to Brexit and lose some of its CAP-funded direct income support payments, if the next CAP reform has to be designed to fit within a smaller EU budget that might result from Brexit, she added.

As part of the upcoming CAP reform there could be calls for member state co-financing of pillar 1 of the CAP, Alan Matthews, who is a Professor of Agricultural Policy at Trinity College Dublin, said.

He noted that the EU budget deliberations and the reduction in the size of the budget, that will result from Brexit, will shape the ambition of EU agricultural policy for the medium term.

Prof. Matthews described Brexit as a ‘most unfortunate mess‘ and stressed the need for early clarity on the transitional arrangements to mitigate the negative impact of Brexit.