Soil Association concern about payments to organic farmers

New payments to organic farmers proposed by Defra do not go far enough, the Soil Association has warned.

Defra is planning to introduce a new organic scheme in 2005 as part of the entry level agri-environment scheme. Payments will be made to all farmers who provide environmental benefits, with extra payments to organic farmers. This will replace the Organic Farming Scheme.

Defra is consulting on the need for higher payments to farmers while they convert to organic methods, with lower levels thereafter. However, the Soil Association is convinced that the best way to encourage conversions, and to keep existing organic farms, is a fair level of on-going payments. If these payments were available, there would be no need for higher conversion payments.

The Soil Association is also concerned that the proposed ongoing payment of £45 per hectare does not adequately reflect the environmental benefits associated with organic farming. The Government, in the Organic Action Plan, stated that organic farming is better for wildlife, causes lower pollution from sprays, produces less carbon dioxide and less dangerous wastes, has high animal welfare standards and increases jobs in the countryside. Defra has estimated that these public benefits delivered by organic farming amount to over £100 per hectare.

Phil Stocker, Head of Agriculture at the Soil Association, said, "The success of the new system will be a critical test of the Government's sustainable farming strategy. The current proposals are clearly unreasonable and will not secure a viable future for organic farming. If ongoing payments of around £100 per hectare were available, we believe that there would be no need for front-loaded conversion payments."

Three levels of ongoing payments have been recommended by the Soil Association:

for top fruit production and up to five hectares of horticultural land - around £600 per hectare

all improved land (i.e. land that is enclosed and being managed) - £100 per hectare

unenclosed land (e.g. moorland and upland hill land) - £15 per hectare.

The Soil Association is particularly concerned at the very low numbers of growers converting to organic top fruit production and the fact that around 85% of the organic fruit sold in the UK is imported. Currently, £600 per hectare is offered for the first three years if converting an orchard to organic production, dropping to £30 per hectare. The Soil Association has asked for these payments to be made to existing organic producers who establish new orchards on organic land.

The organisation also believes there is a case to be made for a farm business plan to be a pre requisite of access to the organic scheme. This would encourage conversion decisions to be more in line with market opportunities and would encourage farmers to think through the business and financial implications of organic conversion.