The British Ministry of Agriculture refused to provide support to pig farmers

A call for direct support to pig producers due to the difficult financial situation facing the industry was addressed to the British Department of Agriculture (Defra) by farmers and MPs, FarmingUK reports on June 29.

However, the department responded to these requests that they would not follow other European countries in providing financial support to struggling pork producers.

Pig farmers said they were "disappointed but not at all surprised" by the decision. The National Pig Producing Association (NPA) said it has been "doing everything possible" over the past 18 months to convince the USDA to support producers.

One of the recommendations of the Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) was that Defra use the powers provided by the Agriculture Act 2020 to "intervene in measures designed to support pig farmers and not pork processors."

Regarding the producer support that has been given to farmers in France and other EU countries, the government said: “Defra does not currently have plans to introduce financial support measures for pig farmers.”

NPA Executive DIRECTOR Zoe Davis said: "We will continue to provide Defra with evidence of the deterioration of the pig industry so that they are keenly aware of the damage it is causing."

Recall that in a previously published report, EFRA urged the government to take labor shortages seriously or risk irreversible damage to the industry. The deputies made a number of recommendations, including urging the government to adopt "incremental changes", such as lowering the requirement for workers' English proficiency. However, the government rejected these recommendations.