HL Deb 20 April 1998 vol 588 cc177-9WA
Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What plans they have to promote organic farming. [HL1410]

The Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Lord Donoughue)

The Government are keen to encourage organic farming as a sustainable farming system that can contribute to environmental objectives and can, in particular, deliver real benefits to biodiversity while producing a product that the consumer wants and is prepared to pay a premium for. To this end, we have commissioned a review of the rates and structure of aid to farmers converting to organic farming. Copies of that review have been placed in the Library of the House. Decisions on the recommendations will be taken in the context of the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review but, in the meantime, we are introducing a number of measures to help organic farming.

First, we do not want farmers to be discouraged from early conversion by the prospect of a revised scheme. Subject to approval by the European Commission, farmers whose agreements are approved on or after today's date will be allowed, but not required, to switch to any revised scheme introduced as a result of this review. The total length of the agreement will remain unchanged and any switch will take place on the anniversary of the agreement. Thus, for instance, a participant might receive the year 1 payment due under the existing scheme and the year 2 to 5 payments due under a revised scheme.

Secondly, we wish to help the cash flow of those in the Organic Aid Scheme. We intend that the full annual payment will be made at the end of the first quarter of each year of the agreement. This is an improvement on the current system, where the majority of payments are made quarterly in arrears. We shall be laying a Statutory Instrument before Parliament that will allow greater flexibility in the timing of payments and, subject to its approval, we hope it will be possible to introduce this change from 1 August 1998.

If organic farming in this country is to expand, it needs a sound research base. We wish to strengthen our programme of organic R&D. We have asked the United Kingdom Register of Organic Food Standards (UKROFS) to provide advice on priorities and we will be reviewing our R&D programme in May. In the interim, we are increasing our spend by about 30 per cent. to nearly £1.5 million for 1998–99. In preparation for future work we will be commissioning additional work to: review animal husbandry techniques for maintaining animal health within organic farming; assess the causes of different profitability on organic farms; and identify the implications for organic farmers of cross contamination with pollen from genetically modified crops.

We also consider it important that organic farmers should be encouraged to maximise the environmental benefits on their farms and to participate in relevant agri-environment schemes. We intend that, when considering applications for Countryside Stewardship, land registered as organic or in conversion will normally be given extra points, and hence priority over comparable conventional land. This will be introduced for the main Countryside Stewardship Scheme in 1998 (closing date 31 May 1998) and for Arable Stewardship in 1999 (closing date 31 March 1999).

If organic farming is to expand, farmers will need advice on conversion relevant to their own circumstances. A telephone help-line and free farm visits are already available through the Organic Conversion Information Service (OCIS). For 1998–99 we intend to increase the resources available to OCIS to meet an anticipated increase in demand.

If organic production expands, there will be a need for increased funding for the sector bodies who are involved in implementing and checking the Organic Aid Scheme. We will be discussing with the sector bodies the resources needed to compensate them for their roles in the scheme and expect to provide additional help in 1998–99 to enable them to prepare themselves for increased demand.