End of road for agrimoney claims – NFU
End of road for agrimoney claims – NFU
By Isabel Davies
A DECISION by the government not to apply for £72m of agrimoney compensation has closed the door on the UK ever making any future claims.
The NFU says UK farmers could now miss out on another £25m which would have become available next year.
And because the agrimoney system came to an end in 2001, no further money will be forthcoming to compensate farmers for the effects of a strong £, which has lowered support payments which are set in ks.
Over the past six years, UK farmers are thought to have been eligible for around £2.1bn of agrimoney compensation of which only about £800m has been paid.
DEFRA secretary Margaret Beckett revealed last Thursday (May 2) that the UK would not apply for the money because of competing demands on the public purse.
The government claims that because of the Fontainbleau rebate the Treasury would have to pay most of the bill if it then drew any money down from Brussels.
Answering a written parliamentary question, Mrs Beckett said she acknowledged the difficulties that the livestock sector was facing. But she added: "We have decided not to make a claim on these funds given the many competing demands on the exchequer at present."
NFU president Ben Gill said the decision not to claim the compensation was "short-sighted in the extreme". "The decision not to even apply for this money defies belief, particularly from a government that claims to be supporting the rural revival of British agriculture."
A spokesman from the Farmers Union of Wales said dairy farmers in particular would feel betrayed. "They are under attack from all sides. They are seeing the price squeezed down and now seeing the governments refuse to claim this money."
Jim Walker, NFU Scotland president, said the decision was symptomatic of a wider problem – a complete disregard for the devolved administrations. "Ministers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were all in favour of claiming agrimoney and expected it to be discussed at the next ministerial meeting."
Mrs Beckett has "turned her back not only on the UKs farmers but also on the other ministers", said Mr Walker.
Ulster Farmers Union president John Gilliland said new measures were needed to reduce farmers exposure to currency problems. Mr Gilliland said farmers should have the option of receiving direct payments in euros and called for a proper debate on the merits of joining the euro zone. *