§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which crops were proposed for each acre of agreed set-aside land for each year since 1988; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. CurryDetailed information on base year crops, cropping patterns in the year prior to the entry of land into set-aside and the green cover crops sown on fallowed set-aside land is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many farmers in England and Wales have applied for the set-aside scheme for 1991–92; how many hectares of land are involved; what was the total expenditure for set-aside schemes for each year since 1988; how many farmers benefited; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GummerThe information requested is shown in the table:
78W
Applications for the 4th year (1991–92) of the set-aside scheme Number of applications2 received Hectares set-aside England 673 24,396.98 Wales 6 177.02
Applications for the temporary one-year set-aside scheme (1991–92) Number of applications2 received Hectares set-aside1 England 742 12,651.75 Wales 7 94.81 1 Approved to date. 2 The figures shown in the table relate to applications received, they are provisional and liable to adjustment in the light of eligibility and withdrawals.
Set-aside: Total expenditure by scheme year 1988–89 £ million 1989–90 £ million 1990–91 £ million Expenditure (England) 17.4 115.30 222.30 Number of participants (England) 1,241 2,320 3,064 Expenditure (Wales) l0.129 10.231 20.355 Number of participants (Wales) 30 41 58 1 Actual 2 Estimated