Regional basis payments 'unfair' -- NFU warning

摘要

The debate over how to calculate the single farm payment shows no sign of abating. ALISTAIR DRIVER and DAVID BURROWS look at the positions in Northern Ireland and the South West of England. The smaller farmers of the South West would be squeezed severely if proposed single payments are based on a regional average as opposed to the individual history of each farm. This warning comes from the South West NFU which, having taken soundings from a broad cross section of its membership, has also warned DEFRA that regional averaging would see a big shift of support away from productive farming. Last week the NFU's ruling body effectively endorsed the individual historic method but in the face of strong support for the regional option from the horticulturesector, it failed to reach a definitive position on which approach to recommend in reply to DEFRA's consultation on CAP reform.