LFA Support Crucial to Survival of Welsh Farming

"The current LFA Boundary in Wales is based on robust, objective and transparent criteria and the support delivered through LFA funding is crucial to the survival of farming in 80% of Wales," that is the message NFU Cymru President, Dai Davies, will deliver to the House of Lords on Wednesday when he gives oral evidence on the European Commission’s Review of the LFA Scheme.

NFU Cymru has already submitted written evidence to the House of Lords inquiry and will submit oral evidence on Wednesday, 28 January. The Union, on behalf of its 15,000 members across Wales, will explain that the demarcation of the LFA boundary in Wales is hugely important to Welsh farmers because it delineates where additional resources should be targeted to mitigate the permanent physical handicaps that farmers in these areas have to contend with.

Mr Davies said, "In addition to the primary role of food production, hill and upland farming delivers a vital role in protecting the environment and the sympathetic management of fragile landscapes. LFA farmers also deliver a number of other positive benefits in terms of economic, environmental, social and cultural objectives. The maintenance of a farmed landscape in the hills and uplands of Wales is important to the growth and development of the Welsh tourism industry, farmers in these areas also play a crucial role in the survival of the Welsh language and culture."

Net farm incomes in the Welsh LFAs have been at pitifully low levels for over a decade. Figures published by the Welsh Assembly Government on 26 November 2008 show cattle and sheep farms in the LFA in 2007/08 made just £12,200. Average net farm income over the past seven years has varied from a low of £1,600 in 2001/02 to a maximum of just £15,900 in 2003/04. LFA support delivered in Wales through Tir Mynydd has helped to maintain farming in the hills and uplands through this difficult period.

In the review of the LFA Scheme the EC are proposing that in future socio-economic criteria are excluded from the criteria used to define the LFA boundary. NFU Cymru’s argument is that this criteria has been important to help designate LFA boundaries and the Union believes that it should remain a part of future designation indicators. Dai Davies will tell the House of Lords that, "Peripherality, remoteness from markets and low service provision are real and major issues in the hills and uplands and have the potential to lead to contraction in farming and land abandonment unless their effects can be mitigated."

NFU Cymru has also been asked whether it would be appropriate to set common EU-wide biophysical criteria for delimiting LFA areas. In response Dai Davies says, "Clearly the handicaps faced by the various Member States will vary hugely. For example heat stress and soil water balance are issues for the more southerly Member States whilst drainage and stoniness may be more relevant to Northern European countries, so it is important that if common criteria are to be used they cover all the potential handicaps throughout the Member States. NFU Cymru believes that if bio-physical criteria are to be used in future then it will be important to allow Member States / regions sufficient flexibility to reflect their respective

natural handicaps.

Dai Davies will tell the House of Lords that the current basis for LFA designation in Wales based on Agricultural land classification indicators is robust, objective and transparent and therefore is not in need of revision. He said, "We are confident that the integrity of the current designation in Wales will stand detailed scrutiny by the EU. Clearly if this is not the case in other countries we believe the commission should pursue this with those countries but allow us to retain the status quo."