Stuart Agnew MEP pins down Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos on set aside issue

During a debate in the European Parliament today (15.11.11) on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy, Norfolk farmer Stuart Agnew MEP, has managed to cross examine the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Dacian Ciolos and get him to confirm that set aside from 2014 will include existing British Government generated environmental schemes to which farmers may already be committed.

Mr Agnew, who farms in Norfolk and is the UKIP spokesman on agriculture, challenged the Commissioner to answer the question on set aside properly: “We don’t feel you answered the question Commissioner. There are many people in Britain who have land in environmental schemes. It may occupy 1% of their farm land. What they want to know is will this 1% count toward the 7% greening you intend to bring in or will the 7% of greening be additional to the 1% they have already put in? As these schemes last five years, many farmers are having to renew this year and they need to know. “

Responding, Mr Ciolos said: “What we have suggested will not have an impact on existing contracts which farmers are already involved in for their Rural Development Programme.” He went on to confirm that farmers who have planted trees around areas of vegetation which are not for crop production will find that these areas of land “will be included in the 7% and will enable the farmer to continue to enjoy that specific support in the context of the Rural Development Programme.”

Mr Agnew also used the debate to strongly condemn the EU’s plans to interfere in crop rotation, which he said farmers regarded as ‘Stalinist’.