Seven months after the window for Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments opened, thousands of farmers are still waiting for their full payment.
About 7,000 are understood to be waiting for the top-up payment to their bridging loan, while several thousand more believe they have been underpaid as a result of an RPA error and have lodged queries with the agency.
NFU Cymru has recently written to the Secretary of State, Elizabeth Truss MP, asking for full BPS payments to be made to hundreds of cross border farmers.
NFU Cymru President, Stephen James said: "Farming businesses are being unfairly penalised by the delays just because their land straddles the Wales/England border and Rural Payments Wales (RPW) and the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) are unable to cope with the established situation.
"We find it extremely concerning that in 2016 when it is commonplace for data to be easily shared between different systems that data cannot be promptly and effectively shared between the RPA and RPW.
"The market difficulties affecting our key sectors this past year starkly highlight the continued importance of direct payments in underpinning high quality food production.
"Our members who are awaiting payments have outstanding bills to cover feed, fertiliser and rent or loan repayments to make, and as each day passes the cash flow crisis affecting their farming business intensifies.
"We ask that the Secretary of State urgently addresses this matter and ensures that all outstanding data is shared without further delay, so that full BPS payments can be made on all outstanding claims.
"We also hope measures are being put in place to ensure these unacceptable delays are not seen again in 2016 and beyond."
Action plan to address the BPS fiasco
The CLA has called on Defra to adopt an action plan to immediately address ongoing issues with BPS payments.
The organisation, which represents landowners, farmers and rural businesses, has written to Defra Permanent Secretary Clare Moriarty who has been tasked with co-ordinating the clearing up of BPS payments for 2015.
The letter outlines an urgent four-point action plan to help resolve the current crisis.
Measures in the plan include:
• Contacting all claimants individually who have been subject to mapping changes individually, giving them an appropriate chance to respond before any changes are finalised;
• Individually contacting all farmers who have not yet received payment to explain why not;
• Offer face-to-face meetings with claimants where it would speed up a resolution of outstanding issues;
• Reintroducing directly accessible whole case workers to help support claimants and ensure that their claims are being treated as a priority.
'Must act swiftly'
CLA President Ross Murray said: "Now that the window for claiming or amending applications for 2016 payments is closed, Government must act swiftly to put an end to 2015 payment delays but also make longer term commitments to farmers to resolve these ongoing issues.
"We must remind Defra that much of the expenditure incurred by farmers in 2015 was in fact incurred from as long ago as autumn 2014.
"All bridging payments must be converted to accurate full payments by 28 June or claimants must receive an interest payment commensurate to the financial difficulties caused by the delays.
"It is also vital that the RPA also confirms that 2016 claimants will not be penalised as a result of unresolved problems with 2015 claims.
"Only once these measures are in place will the RPA begin to get the system of farm payments back on track and start to rebuild the trust which has been lost through continued delays and miscommunication.
"In due course Government must put in place a specific review of the handling of claims in respect of commons which have proved particularly difficult and distressing for some of the hardest pressed farmers in our industry."
