In agriculture & fishing, EU27 states employ average 4 times higher % of workforce as UK

Proportion of national workforce in ‘ag & fish’ varies by 20 times in EU

Brexit Facts4EU.Org analysis shows again why UK interests differ so much from EU27's

When looking at why the UK always seems to do so badly out of “EU funding”, it is important to understand the composition and character of the 28 nation states, as we have shown in many reports.

This report looks at the sector of agriculture, forestry and fishing. We examined the workforce involved in these activities in each member state and found some stark contrasts.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

Employment in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector

1.2% of the UK workforce is employed in this sector
This is the second-lowest percentage in the EU – only little Luxembourg’s percentage is smaller
In the EU27 on average it is 4.7% - almost four times greater
Romania employs 23% - nearly 20 times that in the UK
The EU as a whole employs over 10 million people in this sector

The percentage of a country’s workforce employed in a particular sector is of course only one measure of its importance to that country. Nevertheless it is a significant factor for many governments when they are lobbying in Brussels.

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

One of the ways in which the EU’s budget is used is the Common Agricultural Policy, or CAP. This started in 1962 and is now funded in two ways:-

The European agricultural fund (EAGF) provides direct support and funds market measures
the European agricultural fund for rural development (EAFRD) finances rural development

The CAP absorbs 36% of the EU’s budget

The Common Agricultural Policy accounts for over 36% of the EU’s total annual budget. While this percentage has slowly dropped over the decades, it is still astonishingly high. In 2018 alone, the EU’s CAP budget was €58 billion.

Agriculture in the UK accounts for less than 2% of GDP.

Observations

Much has been written in the press about the impact of Brexit on the UK’s farmers. Conversely little is written about the extraordinary size of the CAP. Once again we have shown how the interests of the EU often do not coincide with those of the UK.

Post-Brexit the Government has plans for the farming sector and these will no doubt be further developed in the coming weeks.

Fishing

We began this report with an analysis of the percentage of the workforce involved in farming, forestry and fishing, as the EU produces aggregated figures.

In previous articles we have looked separately at the fishing sector on its own and will do so again.

Please support our work with a donation. Thank you.

[ Sources: Official Eurostat data for 2018 ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, 30 Aug 2019

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Reader Comments 6

1. The left destroys everything it touches , Friday, August 30, 2019, 05:34:

I suggest we all pray for a 'so comprehensive deal' and out on 31st October. I have a strong feeling after we have left 100%, that we will have a so called 'vaunted' deal by Christmas.

2. barbara jell , Friday, August 30, 2019, 08:46:

I call the Marxist Labour Party 'The Control and Destroy Party' - think that sums them up pretty well. However, not a lot to choose between the modus operandi of ALL of our not-fit-for-purpose main Parties, is there?

3. The left destroys everything it touches , Friday, August 30, 2019, 09:21:

Comment 2, agreed Barbara, when one sees the lies of the last 45 years re the EEC/EU and our attempts to join and the signings of all the treaties thereafter. A lot of that done by so-called Conservatives in power, I am left disgusted at the political class.There is a wonderful book 'The Nazi roots of the Brussels EU' - after reading that I am 100% convinced that all signatories of all treaties signed by the British politicians are blind or knew exactly what they were signing. No politician surely signs something otherwise or did they?

4. Adam David Hiley , Friday, August 30, 2019, 11:22:

to comment 3 I have a copy of that book written by a German Doctor Dr Rath believe it or not it's a excellent book well worth a read

5. The left destroys everything it touches , Friday, August 30, 2019, 12:57:

Comment 4, Adam - that's two copies he sold. That's a book not to pass on, very much worth reading I agree.

6. James Bertram , Saturday, August 31, 2019, 09:58:

Sadly, this reduction in the agricultural workforce is a reflection of successive British Governments' drive towards large farms, industrial farming and mechanisation since the Second World War, together with cheap food policy and taxes supportive of large landowners. Since the 1970s this has been exacerbated by the rise of supermarkets (and consumer demand based on price rather than quality) and joining the EEC with subsidies encouraging large farms and monocultures. This aggressive capitalism and 'science' in the food industry has only been surpassed by the USA. This is why the UK is 29th of 220 countries with the most depleted natural environment, and why millions of UK citizens are dying of modern diseases linked to poor food.
Other European countries have higher agricultural workforces for a mix of reasons, including less mechanisation, less industrial farming, better land and climate (why French farmers are more productive per head than British farmers), and relatively better paid farmers to other occupations within their nation (often as fewer better paid prospects outside of farming).
Brexit is an opportunity for the UK to move away from this environmental and health disaster of industrial farming.
Government needs to support 'small mixed-farms working with natural processes' through subsidy, by contracting these farms to supply schools and hospitals with nutritious food, by encouraging direct buying from farms, tackling supermarket dominance (and price-setting) of retail, by not supporting industrial farming and agri-business, by introducing taxes that benefit small farms, discourage large landholdings and discourage non-farmer investment in land, by educating consumers (including Home Science in schools) to buy quality food and pay a fair price, by not undercutting UK production with cheap lower-quality imports, and moving UK production away from export towards local home consumption.
It can be done - it just needs the political will to do it.

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