This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Single farm payment estimates
21/06/2004
Over 20,000 Scottish farmers and crofters will become the first in the UK to be given a "best estimate" of their potential payment under the Single Farm Payment Scheme.
The Single Farm Payment will replace, from 2005, the range of production subsidies previously paid under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The Scottish Executive Environment & Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD) is in the process of writing to all eligible producers setting out how the payment has been calculated and the mechanism for addressing any concerns.
Rural Development Minister Ross Finnie said:
"Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy will remove a significant bureaucratic burden from Scotland's farmers and crofters.
"We are determined to work with producers to ensure the smooth implementation of reforms which will result in a more market orientated farming industry in Scotland.
"As part of that process we are now writing to producers to set out our initial estimates of their individual Single Farm Payment based on information we currently hold.
"More needs to be done. The consultation on the National Reserve is still underway and the responses must be evaluated before decisions can be reached. These may have a bearing on any final payment, alongside other issues. The consultation on cross-compliance closed recently and details of the standards for Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) will be made available in due course.
"Nevertheless, this is a good start and it will help producers start the process of planning for 2005. I would urge producers to take advantage of the public meetings that SEERAD have planned across Scotland in the coming weeks.
Scottish Ministers believe that a SFPS using the historic approach will provide stability for farmers so they can adapt to the major changes that full decoupling will bring. Specifically, the opportunities for meeting the objectives of the Forward Strategy for Scottish Agriculture - including freedom to farm and market-orientation - and should lead to a more sustainable agriculture sector.
The Single Farm Payment Scheme (SFPS) is part of the CAP Reform arrangements that were announced in February 2004. The Scheme features;
- Decoupling support from production i.e. subsidy farmers receive will no longer be linked to the level of production; and
- Payments will be based on subsidy receipts during the reference period 2000-2002. This is referred to as the historic approach and is the standard system envisaged in the European legislation.
SEERAD is issuing some 20,500 personalised letters, which represents ca.92% of potential beneficiaries. For the remainder (about 1700 producers) SEERAD is not able to finalise an estimate because they fall into non-standard categories, like cross-border producers or potentially have special conditions in terms of SFPS. Work is continuing to address these cases and the producers concerned will receive an explanation and an indication as to when their estimate will be provided.
SEERAD has recognised that the letter and leaflet will act as a prompt to producers to ask questions about aspects not covered in their letter or relate to their personal circumstances.
To address these, SEERAD officials will be running a series of local meetings to explain the SFPS and the background information used in the letter.
The leaflet contains dates, times and locations of meetings SEERAD has been able to arrange by the time of printing: the first of these meetings is on June 28 in Selkirk and the series will run throughout Scotland until around July 19. Where exact details are outstanding, producers are being advised to contact their local SEERAD office.