NFU Cymru has welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Rural Affairs that the Rural Development Plan (RDP) for Wales has been approved by the European Union (EU).
Dai Davies, NFU Cymru President said, "The approval of the programme is crucially important to the farming industry because amongst other things it is the mechanism for delivering Less Favoured Area support to Welsh hill and upland farmers and the agri-environment schemes in Wales."
The Minister for Rural Affairs, Elin Jones, announced this afternoon that the Tir Mynydd budget for 2008 will be £29m but there had been difficulties in getting the terms of the scheme agreed by the EU as part of a new RDP for Wales. Dai Davies, commenting on her announcement said, "I am pleased that despite some difficult negotiations for the Welsh Assembly Government that the Tir Mynydd budget of £29m for this year has been safeguarded, but I am not surprised that the EC, with the demise of the agri-environment element of the previous scheme, has insisted that part of the increased budget has to be distributed as a grazing enhancement to cattle and sheep farmers."
When the revised scheme was being developed NFU Cymru expressed to the Minister at that time some scepticism as to why Element 2 of the payment system was being dropped at a time when the EU was obviously keen to enhance the environmental element.
Dai Davies went on to say, "The important thing has been to get the RDP for Wales approved quickly so that there is no delay in any of the payments covered by the scheme. It is important too that the Tir Mynydd budget is secured at the promised level of £29m but this will only be achieved by amending the way in which payments are delivered."
NFU Cymru will discuss shortly with Welsh Assembly Government officials the detail of this.
