Contact/Cyswllt:  Sian Cliff
02920 898342 / sian.cliff@wales.gov.uk

As the European Union announce a new ‘health check’ review of its agricultural policy, Welsh Liberal Democrat spokesperson for rural affairs Mick Bates AM has stressed that money must be reinvested in local farming industries and not lost to other EU member states.

The European Commission has decided to reform the system under which money is distributed under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), by reducing money given to the largest farms which already benefit from economies of scale and re-allocating money to rural development projects.

Commenting on the proposals Mick Bates said:

“The CAP is one of the most expensive areas of EU policy, accounting for over 40% of the total EU budget but according to Commission figures only 5.6% of farmers receive half of payments made under the CAP scheme. The rest of the money is distributed between the big wealthy farms - clearly there is huge potential here to develop a better scheme that can support our small farms in Wales which depend on this money to survive.

“The only way I agree with reducing the subsidies given to the largest farms is if money saved by a cap on individual payments is recycled on a national basis, so that Wales will see this money and we can decide what to do with it.

“All the new money available should be ploughed back into the farming industry in Wales, to help support and maintain our family farms and encourage young people into farming so that the industry can continue for generations ahead.”



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