§ 11. Mr. SteenTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what specific grants are available to farmers to encourage the adoption of environmentally sound practices on agriculture.
§ Mr. GummerMy Department offers a number of grants to farmers that encourage the adoption of environmentally sound practices. Those and all other grants available from other statutory organisations are listed in our booklet "Conservation and Diversification Grants for Farmers".
§ Mr. SteenDoes my right hon. Friend agree that farmers are caught in a pincer movement between the National Rivers Authority, which threatens prosecution of farmers who use more fertiliser on their land to increase productivity, and the banks, which are increasing their interest rates on loans to farmers, because they are considered a bad risk? Will my right hon. Friend, in his role as David against the EC Goliath, do his best to increase the grants available to farmers, so that, if they practise green policies, they will get their rewards?
§ Mr. GummerA clearly stated aim of our debates in the European Community is the placing of environmentally sensitive farming at the centre of the reform of the common agricultural policy. We want to see the environment as a central theme, not as an "add-on extra"— a complementary series of measures, as proposed by Mr. MacSharry. That is one of the major changes in the MacSharry proposals that we intend to secure.