Farmers have been urged to start completing their Single Application Forms (SAFs) as soon as possible following Deputy Minister Rebecca Evans’ announcement that the Friday May 15 submission deadline would not be extended in Wales.
The SAF completion process is the single most important form completion exercise being carried out by Welsh farmers since 2004, and the financial repercussions of errors on the forms are severe. DEFRA confirmed in March that the deadline for submitting English forms had been extended to June 15 following the collapse of the English online application system and agreement by the EU that extensions would be allowed.
However, last week Wales’ Deputy Minister for Farming and Food announced that the Welsh Government would be sticking with the May 15 deadline as delaying the submission deadline would delay part-payments, thereby causing cash-flow problems for farmers, while also risking the loss of rural development funding.
According to the Welsh Government, around 1,400 of forms had been submitted as of April 2, meaning around 15,000 remain to be submitted over the coming weeks.
“This year’s form will establish farm payments for the foreseeable future,” said FUW head of policy Dr Nick Fenwick.
“The fact that sketch maps have to accompany the forms, agri-environment claims have to be detailed on the form and complex greening calculations have to be undertaken mean forms which usually take a few hours are taking days to complete.”
Dr Fenwick said the FUW fully appreciated the Welsh Government’s predicament in terms of the risks of extending the deadline.
“It really is a Catch 22 situation where the impacts of delaying the deadline have to be balanced against the risk that a proportion of the 15,000 who have yet to submit their forms will find it difficult or impossible to get the necessary support to help complete their forms correctly.
“It’s a difficult message given the busy time of year for the industry, but people need to start completing their forms as a matter of urgency as in many cases completion can take days and require additional information or data to be added to the form,” added Dr Fenwick.
In the meantime, Dr Fenwick said the FUW had written to the Deputy Minister urging her to keep an open mind to the possibility of opting for an extension.
“Only around 15 percent of forms have been submitted to date and we know that submitting a vast proportion of those has meant people working long hours and holidays to cope with the burden. As such, we have urged the Deputy Minister to reassess the situation at the end of April, but at the moment we must presume that the deadline is May 15,” he added.
