Keep Up Momentum on Reducing Red Tape

UK - Dai Davies, NFU Cymru President, welcomed news yesterday, during Monmouthshire County Show, that a study looks set to start later this year into the costs farmers face as a result of complying with cross compliance rules.
calendar icon 1 September 2009
clock icon 2 minute read

DG Agri has published a tender for the study, which is estimated to cost €1.5million. It will assess whether cross compliance is hindering the ability of EU farmers to compete on the global market and will also compare the cost pressures experienced by non EU countries as a result of domestic legislation. The results of the test, which won’t be available until late 2011, will feed into the future of CAP debate.

Dai Davies, speaking at Monmouthshire Show said, “We welcome news of this study as it follows on from the recent announcement by the Rural Affairs Minister on how significant progress has been made in relation to the Welsh Assembly Government’s red tape review with a fall of 28 per cent in the number of land inspections from 1,950 to 1,400 in 2008.”

In the Rural Affairs Minister’s announcement on red tape she also explained that veterinary inspectors have been encouraged to combine their TB inspections with cattle identification inspections and this has resulted in 11 per cent of tests now being carried out jointly. Also, both Farm Assured Welsh Livestock (FAWL) and Assured Dairy Farmers (ADF) are working more closely together so that farmers picked for a random farm assurance visit (around 10 per cent) will not now receive an inspection if the Assembly Government has visited the farm in the previous 12 months.

Dai Davies said, “There are however still other things that can be done and NFU Cymru is keen to see the Assembly’s Rural Inspectorate use farm assurance as part of its risk assessment process when deciding on which farms to visit. We would also like to see an integration of the different farm assurance schemes and we are trying to drive forward the concept of ‘assured farms’ with the Welsh Assembly Government and other interests.”

Mr Davies concluded, “It is very pleasing to see progress, at last, in terms of reducing the quantity of red-tape in Wales, and work to take place on the costs associated with cross compliance. What we now have to make sure is that the momentum on this issue is maintained and that progress made to date is not undermined by new requirements creeping in.”

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