A11 Views of interested organisations.pdf - Agra CEAS Consulting

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MID-TERM EVALUATION OF THE RDP WALES The views on each of the above topics are considered below. A11.2. Impact of the RDP A11.2.1. Farm businesses The impact of the RDP on farm businesses has been obfuscated by the impact of the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in 2001 during which Wales was especially hard hit. This obfuscation is twofold, firstly the outbreak delayed the introduction of Farming Connect as farm visits were prevented. As a gateway to the Farm Improvement Grant and the Farm Enterprise Grant this delayed promotion of these schemes. Secondly, FMD had a significant negative impact on farm incomes 1 and this overshadows any other changes in farm income at this time that might have also been occurring. The result of the FMD outbreak is therefore to delay any impact of the RDP on farm businesses which makes it a little early to comment at this stage. It should, however, be possible to comment on the impact on farm businesses by the time of the ex-post evaluation. The Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) and the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) point out that the RDP is one of many initiatives in the agricultural sector and that its impact is therefore likely to be dwarfed by the Common Agricultural Policy. CCW adds that structural change in the wider UK economy adds to this background noise. That said, the Farming Union of Wales (FUW) claims that there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that farmers in receipt of monies under Tir Mynydd, Tir Gofal and the Organic Farming Scheme, but not directly affected by FMD (and thus compensated), were able to maintain some form of positive cash flow as a result of the RDP which may have helped them to remain viable over this difficult period. The Environment Agency (EA) adds that logically any funding channelled to farmers will assist the farm business to some degree, whether this can be detected or not, although it notes that the schemes are not universally available and impact will therefore be variable. NFU Cymru adds that diversification from a position of income weakness is not an ideal platform for development and the implication is therefore that the potential impact of the RDP may have been mitigated for this reason. The National Trust Wales and the CCW draw on evidence from the Tir Cymen pilot agrienvironmental scheme to suggest that agri-environment schemes do, in general, have a positive impact on farm businesses. On this basis, agri-environmental schemes under the RDP (specifically Tir Gofal, but also the environmental enhancement element of Tir Mynydd) are likely to be beneficial for farm businesses. The extra income that can be generated by those in the farm household not fully employed on the farm through contracting work associated with agri-environment schemes, for example dry stone walling, also contributes to improved farm household income. 1 NFU Cymru informs that average farm income in Wales fell to £6,100 in 2000/01, although this had recovered to £10,100 by 2002/03. 2
MID-TERM EVALUATION OF THE RDP WALES PLANED explain that the impact of the RDP on farm businesses is potentially good, but that there are problems with red tape and bureaucracy which prevent many farmers, especially smaller scale family farmers, from accessing funding. While not a comment on the impact of the RDP on farm businesses per se it is interesting to note that PTP Quality Training have noticed a significant decrease in requests for Agricultural Skills Training in the past year. This does not suggest that farmers are being assisted towards taking training courses by schemes under the RDP. This may be the result of these options being in many cases introduced late. Alternatively, it could be a reflection on the health of farm businesses in that farmers do not feel able to sign up for training courses as a result of either a lack of funds or a lack of time. In either case it does not suggest that the RDP is facilitating training. PTP Quality Training conclude that, coupled with a decrease in health and safety visits to farms over the last 18 months, disasters are waiting to happen as a result of a poor skill set. Tir Mynydd, covering over 80% of farmers in Wales, is the most important RDP funded scheme and as such is a major contributor to maintaining farm businesses. However, NFU Cymru explain that many farmers in LFAs are disgruntled about the re-deployment of resources under Tir Mynydd which has resulted in a significant adverse impact on many LFA farmers in Wales (especially the medium sized upland (but not mountain) farms, according to the National Trust Wales). In particular they are concerned about the decline in the ‘safety net’ mechanism which they feel has exacerbated the financial difficulties faced by farmers in Wales. The impact of modulation under the Agenda 2000 reforms to the CAP has had an impact on all farmers in Wales by removing 2.5% of subsidy in 2001/02, 3.5% in 2002/03 and which is scheduled to increase to 4.5% by 2005/06. NFU Cymru claim that the distributional impact of this, in that all farm payments are modulated, but not all farms are able to claim money back through the RDP, is a source of frustration to the industry. This distributional impact is compounded by the fact that money modulated in 2001 and 2002 is only now being returned to farmers. A11.2.2. Welsh family farm The notion of a Welsh family farm is widely held to be a political construct rather than a tangible entity. It was pointed out that the importance of the notion of the Welsh family farm is heavily linked to devolution and the fact that agriculture is one of the relatively few areas where the Welsh Assembly Government has significant devolved authority. The CLA does not have a definition of Welsh family farm and believes that most farms in Wales could be classified in this manner. The NFU Cymru believes that economic pressure on the industry is reducing the number of viable family farms in Wales. In the opinion of this organisation, Tir Mynydd has worked against smaller family farms through the imposition of stocking density limits. They believe that these farms have historically had to stock at high densities to ensure viability and they do not have the economies of scale to retain viability at lower stocking densities. It is not felt that Tir Gofal offers an opportunity 3
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