Breadcrumbs
New incentive for farmers to keep rights of way in good order - 22 July 2004
Chief executive Richard Wakeford said: “Margaret Beckett’s
announcements today on implementing the 2003 CAP reforms and
‘cross-compliance’ are an important step towards ensuring a greener
future for farming. They are part of a welcome shift towards
rewarding farmers for providing public benefits and away from
bog-standard commodity subsidies.
“On cross-compliance, farmers should incur no extra cost in meeting environmental and rights of way regulations. But the public would be rightly incensed to see subsidies paid to those who breach basic environmental standards.
“The commitment to increase the proportion of money diverted from direct agricultural payments to pay for rural development and environmental incentives (modulation [i]), will provide the much-needed funds to introduce the new Entry Level Stewardship agri-environment scheme [ii]. Available to all farmers, this new scheme will be a great asset in helping to protect and maintain our countryside.
“However the proposals offer only limited protection for the diverse character of our countryside. Many important landscape features – such as stone-faced banks, hedge banks, ridge and furrow and dew ponds – are still unprotected.
“We will continue to work with Defra and farming groups to ensure that cross-compliance requirements bring clearer public benefits through the provision of adequate protection for all significant landscape features,” Richard Wakeford added.
Notes to editors:
For interviews or more information contact Countryside Agency press office on Tel: 020 7340 2909.
The Countryside Agencyis the statutory body working to make the quality of life better for people in the countryside and the quality of the countryside better for everyone. It is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. More information at www.countryside.gov.uk
[i]Modulation is the mechanism by which CAP payments to farmers are reduced by a certain percentage, and the money generated is match-funded by national sources and used to support incentives for the environment and rural development.
[ii]Entry Level Stewardship is part of the new Environmental Stewardship Scheme. It will be introduced in 2005 and available to all land managers across the country for delivering simple yet effective environmental management to guard against diffuse pollution, loss of biodiversity, loss of landscape character and damage to the historic environment.
