Brown rules out retirement scheme

4 July 2000



Brown rules out retirement scheme

By FWi staff

AGRICULTURE minister Nick Brown has ruled out the introduction of an early retirement scheme for British farmers – at least in the short term.

After long consideration, he had been unable to discover a fair and economic means of introducing such a scheme, he said.

Mr Brown made the announcment during a Press conference held by the Ministry of Agriculture at the Royal Show on Monday (3 July).

“No early retirement scheme will be included in the Rural Development Regulation because we couldnt make it work without many deadweight costs.”

While not ruling out the long-term introduction of a retirement plan, Mr Brown stressed the need to find a scheme that was fair to all parties.

“Its difficult to avoid terrible unfairness; not just for tenants and non-owner occupiers, but also for producers of supported crops and non-supported crops,” he said.

Mr Brown said he made the announcement because he did not want farmers to delay any decision to retire in the hope that a scheme would be introduced soon.