Organic Farming (Hansard, 28 January 1999)

§ Mr. Martyn Jones
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which organisations have been commissioned by his Department to operate the Organic Conversion Information Scheme in the United Kingdom; for which parts of the service these organisations are responsible; and if he will make a statement on the current level of interest in the scheme. [67659]

§ Mr. Morley
The Organic Conversion Information Services operates in England and Wales and is funded by the relevant Agriculture Departments. It comprises a telephone "Helpline" operated by the Soil Association and free on-farm advisory visits provided by the Elm Farm Research Centre. On-farm visits are also made by ADAS in Wales.
In Scotland, the Scottish Agricultural College is responsible for a telephone "Helpline". The advisory service in Northern Ireland is provided by the Department of Agriculture.
There was a significant increase in the number of inquiries received during 1998 and so far in 1999 throughout the UK.

§ Mr. Martyn Jones
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the relative(a) direct and (b) indirect (1) subsidies afforded to and (2) energy used by (i) organic and (ii) conventional agriculture; and if he will make a statement. [67716]

§ Mr. Morley
In common with farmers who pursue conventional farming methods, organic farmers benefit from general support delivered under the Common Agricultural Policy, largely through the commodity regimes. They may also claim support under the Organic Aid Scheme and, where eligible, certain other agri-environmental schemes. An assessment of direct energy costs in agriculture is made as part of the annual estimates of agricultural incomes prepared by the Ministry. This assessment does not, however, distinguish between organic and conventional agriculture. Such a comparison would need to be statistically sound to be of value. The current diversity and small scale of many organic farming enterprises would, therefore, restrict the value of any statistical comparisons.

§ Mr. Martyn Jones
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the amount of farmland(a) converted, (b) under conversion and (c) considering conversion to organic farming; and if he will make a statement on the estimated trend and geographical spread. [67692]
390W

§ Mr. Morley
As at 31 December 1998, there were 25,158 ha of converted organic land and 18,712 ha of land in conversion, in England. It is not possible reliably to estimate the amount of farmland being considered for conversion but there is a heightened level of interest from prospective organic farmers as evidenced by a substantial increase in inquiries received by the Organic Conversion Information Service. The south and west of England have a proportionally higher number of organic producers than the rest of England.

§ Mr. Martyn Jones
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his Department's research budget for 1999; how much will be allocated to organic farming systems; how the organic research budget is allocated; and how his Department ensures that research is(a) co-ordinated, (b) not duplicating other work and (c) meeting the needs of the organic sector. [67712]

§ Mr. Morley
MAFF's research budget for 1999–2000 has not been finalised but it is likely to be in order of £127m. £2.1m will be allocated to organic farming. The organic farming research budget is allocated by the Ministry's Organic Farming Unit and the Chief Scientist's Group with advice from the Farming and Rural Conservation Agency, and taking account of the recommendations of the UKROFS R&D Committee.
There are a number of mechanisms to ensure that the research is well co-ordinated, not duplicatory, and meets the needs of the organic sector. These include maintaining awareness of other research, the frequent inclusion of literature and research reviews within the programme, consultation with the UKROFS R&D Committee, the periodic in-depth review of the programme involving external referees, and the fact that much of the research is let by Open Competition.