§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the amount of farmland(a) converted, (b) under conversion and (c) considering conversion to organic; what assessment he has made of future trends in this area; and if he will make a statement on the geographical spread of such land. [67765]
§ Mr. MacdonaldAs at 31 December, there were 24,987 h.a. of converted organic land in Scotland as recorded by the United Kingdom Register of Organic Food Standards and 4,124 h.a. of land in conversion. Latest data on the number of farmers in Scotland receiving payments under the Scottish Organic Aid Scheme to convert to organic farming methods indicate there are currently around 53,000 h.a. entered into the Scheme, fairly evenly spread across the whole of the country. It is not possible to give numbers of those considering conversion. From 1 July 1999 this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his Department's strategy for helping Scottish farmers capitalise on the high demand for organic food in the UK; and if he will make a statement on current departmental initiatives in this area. [67748]
§ Mr. MacdonaldFarmers wishing to convert to organic farming methods can obtain assistance to do so from the Scottish Organic Aid Scheme and work is currently underway to introduce further improvements to the scheme. Assistance is also available to Scottish organic farmers to encourage better processing and marketing of their produce and organics are classed as a priority under the Scottish Processing and Marketing Grant Scheme. The Scottish Marketing Development Scheme is also available to help producers become more competitive and market orientated. From 1 July 1999 this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.