WITH Welsh farmers weeks away from an EU referendum that is critical to their future, meetings up and down the country have been thrashing out the issues – with money at the heart of the debate.

While EU Farms Commissioner Phil Hogan told an in-out referendum debate in Brecon that the current levels of subsidies to Welsh farmers could not be guaranteed if voters opted to leave, UKIP MEP Stuart Agnew argued that Welsh farmers were receiving less from the CAP than they did 20 years ago and further reductions were likely.

Mr Hogan said Wales is a net beneficiary of EU financial support under the CAP which means it receives more in EU funding than it contributes through taxation.

“This is critically important, because agriculture and rural employment are vital for this country,’’ said Mr Hogan.

Around 60,000 people are employed on farms across Wales. And the food and drink supply chain makes up approximately 18% of the total Welsh workforce.

“In the past eight years alone, EU funds have helped to create over 35,000 jobs and over 12,000 new enterprises in this very country,’’ Mr Hogan suggested.

Mr Hogan said pro-Brexit campaigners who claimed that a UK-designed agricultural policy would better serve the interests of farming had failed to put “flesh on the bones’’ of this claim.

Outside the EU, agricultural spending would be subject to the same annual review by the British Treasury as every other government department.

“Can Welsh farmers compete with the city of London, doctors, nurses and schools in such a review?’’ Mr Hogan questioned.

But Pembrokeshire farmer John Davies, who chaired the debate, said in business terms, an investment of nearly £13 billion – the sum the UK pays into the EU – and a return of £5 billion – the money it receives back – was questionable.

Stuart Agnew, UKIP Member of the European Parliament, who put the case for the UK leaving the EU, said Welsh farmers were receiving less from the CAP than they did 20 years ago and further reductions were likely.

The CAP’s share of the EU budget had fallen from 80% to less than 40% in a generation, he added.

New member states would all be net recipients, taking more from the CAP than they contributed towards it. This meant there would be less to share around.

Mr Agnew said that as well as ensuring Welsh farmers were better supported, leaving the EU would enable the country to take back control on issues such as food labelling, ensuring that food and drink labelled as Welsh actually were Welsh.

But Mr Hogan said the EU’s position as the world’s largest agricultural trader could not be ignored. “It offers the world’s largest agri-food markets, with exports exceeding €129 billion in 2015. In total, farmers in Wales have the opportunity to capitalise on over 53 trade agreements which allow for agri-produce to be exported and imported without any red tape.

“Our brands are known and loved throughout the world, not least our world-renowned origin products such as Welsh Beef and Lamb. I want these products to achieve even greater sales on a wider variety of markets. And the potential is there for them to do so.’’

He added that the EU had also significantly increased its promotion budget, which was important for Wales. “Meat Promotion Wales is running a three-year campaign on quality Welsh lamb in Denmark, Germany, Italy and Sweden, with a budget of nearly €4.2 million.’’

The debate, organised by NFU Cymru, CLA and the Farmers’ Union of Wales, was attended by around 200 local farmers and agricultural professionals.