§ Mr. BeggsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures have been introduced to assist(a) the early retirement of farmers and (b) new entrants into farming in Northern Ireland. [R] [133343]
§ Mr. PearsonEarly in 2002 independent research was commissioned from Queen's University Belfast (QUB) and University College Dublin (UCD) to investigate the viability of both a New Entrants and an Early Retirement Scheme in Northern Ireland. This research concluded that there could be economic benefits from a New Entrants Scheme in the form of an interest rate subsidy but that the latter would not offer good value for money. I have not seen any other analyses which would cause me to dispute the research project findings.
A draft New Entrant Scheme was put out to consultation on 19 May 2003. The consultation produced a positive response and I hope that an announcement about a scheme will be made shortly.
§ Mr. BeggsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many participants have enrolled in(a) the Organic Farming Scheme and (b) the Countryside Management Scheme, in each of the last three years. [R] [133345]
§ Mr. PearsonThere are currently 59 individuals participating in the Organic Farming Scheme. There were 40, 13 and four new participants during 2000–01, 2001–02 and 2002–03, respectively. To date in 2003–04 there have been two new entrants to this scheme.
There are currently 2,129 participants in the Countryside Management Scheme, 655 entered during 2001–02, 1,023 during 2002–03 and 451 have entered to date in 2003–04. There were no entrants during 2000–01.