§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what area of land is currently under set-aside; what percentage this is of agricultural land; and what are the equivalent figures in other EU Member states. [1326]
§ Mr. RookerThe information requested is not yet available for the current year. Most farmers have only recently submitted their 1997 IACS applications which detail the areas they have set aside. However, the figures for 1996, as compiled by the European Commission, are given in the following table. The obligatory set-aside rate in 1996 was 10 per cent. but under the Arable Area Payments Scheme (AAPS) small scale producers do not have to set land aside. In addition, farmers may enter more than the minimum 10 per cent. of their arable area into set-aside if they wish.
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Member State Set-aside (hectares) Set-aside as percentage of land in the AAPS1 United Kingdom 485,020 11 Austria 115,340 10 Belgium 17,640 4 Denmark 220,712 11 Finland 169,807 13 France 1,405,629 10 Germany 1,206,903 12 Greece 15,255 1 Ireland 22,977 8 Italy 229,581 5 Luxembourg 1,745 5 Netherlands 9,532 2 Portugal 57,386 6 Spain 1,313,621 14 Sweden 308,656 19 EU total 5,579,804 11 1 Land in the AAPS does not include pasture or areas sown to crops outside the scheme.