NFU Cymru responds to cross-compliance consultation
NFU Cymru has today warned the Welsh Assembly of the anxiety amongst it's 15,000 members who feel that in practice Cross-Compliance may re-instate the bureaucracy, red-tape and gold-plating of standards that the Union has actively sought to free the industry of in terms of the move towards the decoupling of payments.
The warning forms part of NFU Cymru's response to the Welsh Assembly's Consultation regarding the operation of Cross-Compliance in Wales.
Peredur Hughes, President of NFU Cymru said, "Unless the Welsh Assembly can simplify inspection procedures and make cross-compliance practical and manageable at farm level then the reform package will be regarded as a failure and will have been a disservice not merely to the agricultural sector but to rural areas in general."
NFU Cymru acknowledges the fact that compliance with the statutory management requirements should introduce no new burden to Wales' farmers as the 18 EC Regulations and Directives are already in force in Wales and the rest of the UK. What the Union is deeply concerned about however is the potential for a multiplicity of bodies to get involved in the cross-compliance inspection regime. [More Follows...]
The organisation's current understanding is that if the Welsh Assembly were to take on responsibility for cross-compliance inspections this would involve 1% of Single Farm Payment (SFP) applicants being inspected. If however a number of agencies are responsible for inspection each inspecting body will have to undertake a 1% check of SFP applicants which could result in a significant increase in the number of inspections.
Peredur Hughes said, "We would be anxious to avoid this and have stressed to the Welsh Assembly in our consultation response the consequence would be increased disruption to the day to day management on our farms and also if the inspection procedure is slowed down as a result of the increased number of visits this has the potential to slow down the payment to all farmers since inspections have to be completed before SFP payments are issued to all applicants."
