Delivering real change for our food and farming industries remains a key focus for Defra, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Margaret Beckett stressed today.
Speaking at the Royal Show, Stoneleigh, Mrs Beckett highlighted progress on meeting the aims of the government's Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food which, backed with an extra #500million, set out the ways to secure a sustainable future for the sector.
Mrs Beckett also outlined the success of last week's agreement by EU countries on Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms which she described as "a massive achievement".
On the food and farming strategy, Mrs Beckett said:
"Defra has already started to deliver the change needed, working closely with the Implementation Group headed by Sir Don Curry and with others in industry, to bring about what we all want to see - viable farming and food sectors, contributing to a better environment and healthy and prosperous communities."
"For example, the pilots for our entry-level agri-environment schemes and our pilot demonstration farms network are already in place, English Food and Farming Partnerships - promoting collaboration - has been launched, as has the Food Chain Centre, and Assured Food Standards has been resourced to work on assurance."
This work, said Mrs Beckett, was set within a wider framework of delivery for the rural community, including:
- Market town regeneration programme - #37m of new direct funding,
helping to revitalise more than 140 small towns
- #450m (from 2003-06) to support rural post offices.
- Funding to deliver broadband to key rural services, such as every
school, GP surgery and hospital in the country, by 2006.
On the package of CAP reforms, Mrs Beckett added:
"Just last week we delivered a series of reforms which sets a new course for agriculture in the EU, freeing farmers to farm the land instead of subsidies, reducing bureaucracy, shifting support towards a wider range of rural and environmental activities and placing us in a strong position in world trade talks later this year."
The main elements of the CAP reform package were:
- Breaking the link between subsidies and production in order to
reconnect farmers to their markets, with 'national envelopes' to
allow us to develop targeted schemes to promote sustainable farming
in the UK.
- A new Single Farm Payment to replace the plethora of existing
schemes such as Arable aid, suckler cow premium, slaughter premium,
etc.
- An earlier start to modulation, which applies across the EU, with a
greater switch of resources to rural development funds than was
originally envisaged.
- Cross-compliance to make payments dependent on meeting standards in
key areas such as the environment and animal health and welfare.
