LFA changes improve system – Finnie

By Shelley Wright

SCOTLANDS rural development minister, Ross Finnie, has announced changes to the Less Favoured Area Support scheme, including a new cap on individual payments.

Amendments to the scheme, which will also see more money for those with beef cows and an increase in the payments on rough grazing, will take effect for 2002.

Although the changes have been accepted by the European Commission, formal approval is expected in January.

For next year, only 25% of farms will have to rely on the 80% safety net, compared with 55% in 2001.

And 55% of LFA farmers will receive more money under the revised LFA scheme than they did under its predecessor, the Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowance scheme.

The money to make these changes will come from increasing the minimum stocking density on moorland farms from 0.08 livestock units/ha to 0.12lu/ha.

That will cut some of the payments to large, lightly stocked estates.

Over-compensation will also be avoided by imposing a cap of 2500 on the amount individuals can gain under the LFA scheme compared with HLCA payments.

A new 20/ha top-up for beef cattle will be introduced, and payment rates on all rough grazing will be increased by 3.50/ha.

And the existing environmental top-up will be amended so that it is available to all farms with stocking densities of 0.5lu/ha or less and with 10% or more of those units in beef cattle.