Keep ex-subsidy cash in its own region

12 October 2001



‘Keep ex-subsidy cash in its own region’

By FWi staff

THE NFU wants cash moved from subsidies to rural development schemes to be spent in the same region.

By 2006, 4.5% will have been shaved off UK direct food-production subsidies to fund rural development.

The union is worried that farmers who find it hard to join environment schemes could see their subsidies go to producers in other areas.

“Funds should be ring-fenced on a regional basis,” NFU policy director Martin Haworth told a union council meeting on Thursday (11 October).

“If money is taken away from farmers in East Anglia it should be spent on schemes in East Anglia.”

Mr Haworth is part of a group working on the unions strategy on the CAP in advance of a mid-term review of the regime next year.

Ring-fencing modulated funds is one of five issues ministers should take into account if it introduces more modulation, Mr Haworth said.

Modulation should apply equally to all direct payments and to all sizes of farm, he added. The government must also match funds taken from farmers direct subsidies

The NFU wants to make sure there are no schemes added on those that already receive money from modulation.

These are mainly agri-environment, woodland and hill farm schemes, that Mr Haworth said are already over-subscribed.

He admitted the union is in the minority in being cautious about further modulation.

“The government thinks it is a good idea, as do all agri-environment groups.

Even the CLA and the Countryside Alliance want a 20% modulation rate,” he said.

Mr Haworth also warned farmers about the threat posed by cross-compliance rules that the government could impose on the industry.

Under cross-compliance, farmers would only receive subsidies if they complied with rigid rules set by the government.

Money from farmers that fail to do so will go to rural development projects.

“Cross-compliance would be much worse than modulation,” he said.