Simplify assurance schemes

31 January 2000



‘Simplify assurance schemes’

FARM assurances schemes must be simplified to reduce costs, claims a leading academic.

Colin Whittemore, professor of agriculture at Edinburgh University, says assurance schemes are excellent in principle.

But he says the dozens of demands on assurance schemes will lead to new constraints on producers. Concerns are also mounting over costs.

That view is supported by Don Stevenson, systems manager for advice and consulting at the Scottish Agriculture College, who is involved in a study of the costs and benefits of such schemes.

He says that unless there are plans to rationalise the schemes then costs risked getting out of control.

The British Association of Animal Science intends to devote time to the issue at its meeting in March.

• Rough ride for dairy assurance?, FWi, 24 September, 1999
• Action group buoyed-up by whole farm scheme, FWi, 07 June, 1999
• Anxiety grows over costs of assurance schemes, FWi, 17 October, 1997
  Li>The Herald 31/01/2000 page 17
  

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