P-04-685 Basic Payment Scheme in Wales - a Fairer, Regional Payment Model Required
P-04-685 Basic Payment Scheme in Wales - a Fairer, Regional Payment Model Required
This petition was submitted by Farmers for Regional
Payments, having collected 139 signatures.
Text of the Petition
We
call on the National Assembly for Wales to urge the Welsh Government to
reconsider its decision to implement a flat-rate model for payment of the Basic
Payment Scheme (BPS) subsidy to Welsh Farmers. The BPS is a European Union
grant designed to help the farming industry. Farmers can apply for the grant
once a year - normally in May - and payments begin in December. In July 2015,
the Welsh Government made the decision to move to a flat-rate payment per
hectare for all Welsh farmers under the BPS. As a result of this decision, it
is estimated that 1,323 farms will lose more than €2,500, many of which will
see their payments reducing by around 40-60% over a five year period. Lost
payments will amount to up to €100,000 per farm, per year from now until 2019.
The flat-rate payment model for all Welsh farmers will lead to unemployment and
business failure. It will also have damaging effects on the environment and the
quality and quantity of Welsh food production, owing to the fact that
productive farms will be worst affected. There are substantial differences in
the productivity of farmland in Wales. Therefore, regional application of the
BPS is imperative. The decision will also disadvantage productive farmers in
Wales against equivalent farmers in other countries, with English farmers, for
example, receiving BPS payments on a regional basis. It is clearly in the best
interests of the farming and wider Welsh community to ensure that there is a
fairer payment scheme in place.
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First published: 07/07/2016