Julian has welcomed the Government’s commitment to listen to the views of the farming community in an important year ahead of changes to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The new CAP is implemented in 2015 and Ministers are working hard to support farming and the agricultural industry. As part of these discussions, the Government has recently decided to transfer 12 per cent of monies from Pillar 1 to Pillar 2 over the next four years, rather than 15 per cent, which is the maximum allowed under EU rules. This move is welcomed by the NFU.
The Government is committed to hold a review in 2016 to consider the transfer rate from payments in 2018 to ensure different parts of the agricultural sector receive the right level of support in the future.
Julian said:
“Ensuring our farmers and agricultural community has a strong and sustainable future is vital.
“At my annual Agriculture Summit in November I heard how important the issue of modulation is to the farming community. The decision to keep the rate of modulation below the maximum is a sensible one and illustrates that this Government is listening to the sector on changes to the Common Agricultural Policy.”