§ 13. Mr. Nicholas Edwardsasked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the capital injection into Welsh agriculture consequent upon the Price Review.
§ Mr. Gibson-WattThe net value to Welsh farmers of the measures taken following the 1972 Annual Review is of the order of £4 million to £5 million. This will provide a substantial cash injection to encourage further investment and greater production.
§ Mr. EdwardsMay I congratulate my hon. Friend on a review that will increase the pace of expansion and be of particular benefit to Welsh livestock producers without putting up the price of food in the shops? Can my hon. Friend say specifically what effect he thinks the review will have on the farm improvement scheme?
§ Mr. Gibson-WattI am grateful to my hon. Friend for what he has said. It is much the best review that we have had for many years, and it will be very well received by Welsh farmers. Improvement grants are already running at a good figure and we believe that as a result of the review improvements will increase even further.
§ Mr. Elystan MorganCan the hon. Gentleman say what part of the £20 million cut in fertilisers will apply to Wales and whether any specific studies were made of the special needs of Wales with its thin, leached, sour soils before this decision about fertilisers was made in the Price Review?
§ Mr. Gibson-WattThe answer to the first part of the hon. Gentleman's question is about £1 million, or just over it, but at the same time, as my original answer showed, an increase in net income of £4 million to £5 million is very considerable, indeed. The answer to the hon. Gentleman's last question is that our soils are in many parts shallow and poor but we believe that this review favours the livestock part of the industry very much indeed.