§ Mr. Andrew WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action his Department is taking to promote research projects on organic farming, and what funding has been allocated to these projects.
486W
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonNo. While Community rules allow member states to permit land fallowed under the set-aside scheme to be used for extensive grazing of agricultural animals, the Government have decided not to take up this option. In arriving at this decision we recognised that the grazing of set-aside land could create unfair competition for existing livestock producers, and particularly for those hill and upland farmers who have few, if any, alternatives to livestock rearing. Community rules do not allow member states to restrict the grazing option to certain types of animals—whether used for fibre, milk or meat—even in cases where these would pose fewer competition problems.
§ Mr. Andrew WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give figures showing the set-aside take-up in each EEC country.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe latest comparative information available to us is set out in the table as follows:
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonMy Department is currently funding a number of research and development projects by the Scottish agricultural colleges which are both directly and indirectly relevant to organic farming. The cost of this work in 1989–90 is about £200,000. The Edinburgh university centre for human ecology and the Edinburgh school of agriculture are undertaking a joint pilot project over two years to demonstrate the viability of organic farming. The Scottish Development Agency is contributing £175,000 to this project which is also supported by the European Community and Safeway plc.