§ Mr. Conlanasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has any proposals for giving encouragement to agricultural marketing cooperatives.
§ Mr. BishopGrants totalling about £4 million have been made to co-operatives since the Agricultural and Horticultural Co-operation Scheme 1971 was introduced. Of these grants more than two-thirds have gone to horticulture. My right hon. Friend proposes to make certain administrative changes to give additional encouragement in the agriculture sector. He has accepted a recommendation from the Central Council for Agricultural and Horticultural Co-operation that grants should be paid on certain items of fixed equipment in marketing buildings which have hitherto been administratively excluded. In particular, these changes will benefit potato grading, bulk grain storage, and livestock collecting centres. The additional cost will be met by reducing the rate of grants in horticulture to 30 per cent. as recommended by the Central Council and at the same time bringing grants for cooperative on-farm activities into line with those available to individual farmers and growers.