A11 Views of interested organisations.pdf - Agra CEAS Consulting

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MID-TERM EVALUATION OF THE RDP WALES to these farms because the management restrictions would compromise production levels. This view is shared by RSPB Cymru. However, this situation may have been at least partially addressed by the change in Tir Gofal selection criteria, a change made, at least in part, in order to allow entry to what the CCW believes to be family farms previously excluded for this reason (it was felt that small farms were able to access the scheme because their farming practices were often already compatible with scheme management prescriptions and large farms were able to access the scheme through making relatively small changes over relatively large areas). The CCW state that the current scoring system tends to favour farms in the 50 to 200 hectares range as a result of points being awarded for each farm enterprise. The award of extra points for young farmers is also felt to favour farms with a successor in place. The CCW also point out that the allocation of extra resources to young farmers under the Farm Investment chapter of the RDP (i.e. FIG and FEG) should also have a positive impact on the survival of the family farm. In the view of the CCW, however, the RDP lacks a coherent approach to this issue with the application of different minimum size criteria in Tir Mynydd and Tir Gofal and the differential treatment of young farmers from scheme to scheme. It is felt that this results from the drafting of the RDP prior to the Farming for the Future document. Part of providing support to Welsh family farms is likely to involve supporting young farmers and the Farming Union of Wales is disappointed that the RDP did not incorporate explicit measures to this effect. The FUW believes that with the average age of farmers in Wales increasing there are fewer young farmers willing to enter the industry or take over the family business. They inform that representatives from the major banks present at the Royal Welsh Show suggested that up to 59% of farms now had no successor as young people move away to pursue more lucrative careers in other sectors (a view also held by PTP Quality Training). This so-called ‘succession gap’ has apparently been widening in recent years and this evidence therefore suggests that the RDP has failed to have an impact on the long-term sustainability of the family farm. However, it should be noted that the ‘succession gap’ may have widened less than it would have done in the absence of the RDP, but this is not a testable hypothesis. PLANED feel that the bureaucracy associated with the RDP schemes prevents many farms (and they emphasise particularly small family farms) from accessing funding. That said, the National Trust Wales view is that RDP schemes such as Tir Mynydd, Tir Gofal and the Organic Farming Scheme have been and remain vital for the continuing survival of family farms. A11.2.3. Farm amalgamation Although the RDP has, in the opinion of the Farming Union of Wales, made a contribution to the viability of farms in Wales, the underlying economic position and the low market returns experienced over the last few years has resulted in the loss of farming families in Wales and the subsequent amalgamation of farms. Three and a half thousand IACS registered holdings have disappeared in Wales between 1997 and 2003 and this loss of farming families is likely to have impacts in the wider 4
MID-TERM EVALUATION OF THE RDP WALES rural economy in terms of spend and also in terms of the viability of schools, churches and the Welsh language and culture. It is not felt that the RDP has had a sufficient impact to make much difference to this general trend. PLANED refer to the impact of the RDP on farm amalgamation simply as marginal. The CCW note that the whilst they expect the RDP to slow down the trend in farm amalgamation, the scale of the programme is too small to have a major impact given the other forces involved, a view also subscribed to by the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency believe that farm amalgamation in the dairy sector is a particular problem. It claims that dairy farmers buy or lease additional quota and, for convenience, move more cows onto the home farm thus increasing environmental pressure at this site. At the same time, areas where the quota is leased from can then become under-grazed, which also has negative environmental implications. In contrast, NFU Cymru feel that farm amalgamation has helped some farming businesses to remain viable and to generate sufficient income to retain farming jobs that would otherwise have been lost. However, these gains must surely be at the expense of farms going out of business and it is difficult to see how the net effect on employment could be anything other than neutral at best. The NFU Cymru do add that farm amalgamation does reduce the opportunity for new entrants and undermines the fabric of rural communities. The impact of the RDP on farm amalgamation, however, is not stated. The National Trust Wales did not comment on the impact of the RDP on farm amalgamation, but they feel that amalgamation is not the way forward and that farms should diversify income streams rather than increasing scale and becoming solely reliant on food production. It is NTW policy to try to avoid farm amalgamations where possible. In contrast, PTP Quality Training believe that it is amalgamated farms which have the greater need to diversify as labour demand is increasingly met by machinery and not by family labour. A11.2.4. Non-agricultural businesses Any policy initiative similar to the RDP will inevitably create jobs related to the implementation of the schemes themselves. These positions include, inter alia, scheme administrators and farm level consultants (although the National Trust Wales add that the latter are only of benefit to farmers if they are producing useful Farm Business Development Plans). Aside from this inevitable impact, the NFU Cymru claim that there is some evidence of additional jobs and income being generated in other industries linked to agriculture as a result of the RDP. However, the organisation questions the extent and permanency of the jobs created. The Farming Union of Wales states that agriculture is still the cornerstone of the rural economy, despite its relatively low contribution to GDP, and as such the multiplier effect of money paid out to rural businesses as a result of the RDP is substantial. Schemes within the RDP, such as Tir Gofal, offer opportunities for conservation contractors, although the impact of this through the RDP is 5
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