§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the position of the United Kingdom in order of rank among EC states in respect of the proportion of arable farmers who will have to put land into set-aside; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for this.
§ Mr. CurryI refer the hon. Member to my reply of 22 February,Official Report, column 472.
Farmers in all member states must set aside 15 per cent. of the land on which they are claiming arable area payments, unless they join the simplified scheme for small producers. There is no set-aside requirement under the simplified scheme but area payments will only be made at the lowest rate. The majority of United Kingdom farmers 688W are expected to join the main scheme, whereas in some member states a significantly higher proportion of farmers are likely to choose the simplified scheme.