§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what forms of financial assistance are available to farmers intending to grow flax; what assessment she has made of the levels of flax production in the UK; what percentage of agriculturally productive land was under flax in the last year for which figures are available; what steps her Department is taking to encourage flax production; and if she will make a statement. [54490]
§ Mr. MorleyFlax is eligible for aid under the Arable Area Payments Scheme (AAPS). Payments rates vary in different parts of the UK. In England the rate in 2001 was £270.88 per hectare. Aid is also payable on the tonnage of flax fibre produced by an authorised primary processor, the most recent rate being £55.67 per tonne.
Flax production in the UK built up during the early 1990s before falling back again, peaking at just over 20,000 hectares in 1996. In 2001, AAPS aid was claimed for 4,847 hectares of flax in the UK out of a total AAPS claim of 4,511,374 hectares, flax representing 0.1 per cent. of arable agriculturally productive land. The Census total for all agricultural land in the UK, excluding common rough grazing, is 17,323,000 hectares. Flax therefore represents around 0.03 per cent. of all agriculturally productive land.
The Government Industry Forum on Non-Food Crops, set up to evaluate opportunities for non-food crops and provide strategic advice to Government, has commissioned a case study on the potential for UK grown fibre crops in composite materials. We expect this report to be published in the summer.