Good news for growers as FVP's are abolished

Today's announcement by Defra Minister of State, Lord Rooker that fruit, vegetable and potato authorisations under the Single Payment Scheme are to be abolished from 2008 has been welcomed as long-awaited simplification by farmers and growers in the East Midlands.

The announcement comes after a concerted campaign by NFU to change the complex and unnecessary arrangements whereby growers must apply to use FVP authorisations when growing horticultural crops and potatoes under the Single Payment Scheme.

"Growers have been frustrated and annoyed by the extra red tape they've had to abide by," commented Simon Fisher, NFU's senior policy adviser for the East Midlands. "When the CAP reforms were introduced in 2005, it was clear that the additional requirements faced by growers were just an added complication. In addition to a second set of entitlements, the FVP system meant that land swaps, a common occurrence in vegetable production, had to be arranged in advance and take account of the use of authorisations. Now that the FVP system is coming to an end, we hope that there will be less red tape and fewer headaches for growers for the 2008 SPS applications."

Farmers and growers using the FVP system found that their SPS claims could be more complicated, leading to delays and errors during the processing of applications each year.

"Growers will be relieved to be treated the same as ordinary SPS applicants in future," continued Simon Fisher. "FVPs were just another reason for processing and payment delays at the RPA, so their abolition should mean that the system is simpler to use than in previous years."