Irresponsible to save SFP

SIR DON CURRY has branded those who suggest farmers should keep their single farm payment separate from the farm business as “irresponsible” at the Semex dairy conference in Glasgow. 

The chairman of the government‘s sustainable farming and food strategy implementation group said the public would wonder why on earth farmers deserved the money otherwise.

Cross-compliance, public goods, countryside features, habitats and animal welfare were just some of the things that taxpayers received from farmers.

“So how can anyone responsibly recommend that £3bn be put in the bank? The SFP must be regarded as a contribution to the fixed costs of the farm business.

“It should not subsidise enterprise costs, but it should be regarded as an income stream to set against fixed costs,” he said.

Sir Don believed the SFP would certainly be eroded over time. But he criticised “those fatalists” who proclaim that it will have disappeared within 10 years.

The only justification for removing the support within that timeframe would be if world standards of animal welfare, food safety and environmental protection rose to EU levels. That would not happen, Sir Don predicted.

“The public demands these high standards that we operate to. But they are apparently unwilling to pay for them through a premium on the food we produce.

“So, for us to compete globally, we need continued taxpayers‘ support.

“And, as an industry, it is our responsibility to show the public what we do if we are to succeed in retaining the SFP in future,” he said.