Farmers worried over BPS payment delay 'meltdown'

More needs to be done to make sure most farms receive their Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments before the end of January, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) have said.

The call for Defra to increase efforts to provide more farm businesses with their BPS payments comes as the Regional Payment Agency (RPA) reveals 30,000 claims will be processed this week and the “vast majority” by either the end of December or in early January.

Those farms that do not receive their payment this week will be informed shortly, the RPA says.

Other options should be investigated

While many farmers welcome the news, NFU President Meurig Raymond says Defra and the RPA should consider boosting their resources or consider other options like partial payments.

He is especially concerned that complex cases and those involving common land need to be addressed early.

A lack of cashflow in the industry means these payments are becoming even more vital to farmers and the rural economy as a whole, Mr Raymond says.

He says Defra and the RPA should be “under no illusion” as to how vital these payments are and how desperate many businesses are for the input of funds.

No meltdown

In 2006, many farms were facing “meltdown” after news came through that there could be a 6-month delay in payments, says NFU Vice President Guy Smith.

He says that, as recently as March, many farmers were worried that this year would be a repeat of that situation, so he congratulates Defra and the RPA for their work so far.

And while he acknowledges Defra was right to take heed of warnings and put more resources into the RPA, he is worried that the picture in Scotland is much worse than in England.

Those farms getting told they might not see payments come through until February will be increasingly concerned, he warns.

He hopes to organise a meeting between the NFU and the Secretary of State Liz Truss and RPA chief executive Mark Grimshaw.