EU exit 'catastrophic' for Welsh farmers, says Rebecca Evans

Lorraine Howells said farmers would struggle to compete against other sectors for funding without the CAP payments

Leaving the European Union would be "catastrophic" for the farming industry in Wales, the deputy minister responsible has said.

Rebecca Evans said losing EU funding worth £240m a year with no guarantee the UK government will replace it would be hugely damaging.

Farmers say they rely on the common agricultural policy (CAP) subsidy.

But UKIP's Wales leader said there was no reason they could not be maintained if the UK voted to leave the EU.

Speaking ahead of the start of the Royal Welsh Agriculture Show on Monday, Ms Evans said aside from CAP payments, 92% of Welsh beef and 93% of Welsh lamb was exported to European countries each year - worth £175m to Welsh farmers.

She added: "I have followed with interest the many discussions on European membership in the media and have been alarmed at the number of commentators who naively believe agriculture would see a reduction in so called 'red tape' and that the industry would continue to receive the same level of financial support were we to leave the EU.

"In fact, withdrawal from the EU, and the impact that this would undoubtedly have in respect of the CAP, would be catastrophic for Welsh agriculture."

Nathan Gill said the UK government could use the money is puts into the EU to maintain the payments

Farmer Lorraine Howells said she would struggle without the CAP subsidy, which supports farmers, the countryside and rural communities.

"We would have to compete against all other sectors and we haven't got a hope when there's health and education and so on that we are competing against," she said.

"To me, farming is important because you cannot do anything - you cannot educate someone if they are not eating, you cannot make them better if they are not eating and we produce the food for them."

But UKIP's leader in Wales, Nathan Gill, who is in favour of leaving the EU, believes the payments could be met with the money the UK would save by withdrawing from the Union.

"The UK is a net contributor to the EU to the tune of £10bn a year and it's rising, it rises every single year," he said.

"What UKIP are saying is when we leave the EU we will still be able to make those CAP payments to our farmers. There's no reason we can't."