HM Treasury has stated that level funding for farmers in the form of direct payments will be made available in 2020: Support confirmed
Level funding does mean a decline in real terms because of inflation, currently running (CPI) at fractionally over 3 per cent. The basket of goods used by farmers as inputs may differ from the CPI rate and indeed from one farm to another.
The NFU welcomed the statement, but remains concerned about future trade policy and imports: NFU response
Quite what form the new ELMS payments will take remains to be seen. I have heard that at least three versions have been discussed within Defra. The key is to develop a scheme that provides genuine incentives for farmers to engage in environmentally friendly behaviour whilst giving a fair deal for taxpayers.
I am still not convinced that sufficient attention is being paid to climate change, although that was a major deficiency of the CAP where attempts to introduce a climate change pillar were (in my view) defeated by the agri-industry lobby.
No comments:
Post a Comment