The Shadow Minister for Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Russell George AM, has reiterated Welsh Conservative calls for farmers to be given early access to the Basic Payments Scheme in Wales.
The Basic Payments Scheme is the biggest of the European Union's rural grants and payments to help the farming industry and acts as a safety net for farmers and crofters by supplementing their main business income.
Questioning the Leader of the House, Jane Hutt, in the National Assembly for Wales, Mr George, who is also the Assembly Member for Montgomeryshire, called for the Welsh Government to make the basic payment available to farmers at the earliest opportunity to support the industry and prevent significant cash flow implications.
Mr George said:
Earlier this week, I met with farmers at Welshpool Livestock Market to discuss the ways in which the Welsh Government can support farmers who are already facing a difficult economic outlook. Early access to basic payments was high on the agenda.
Now that the European Commission has relaxed the administrative controls which Member States need to undertake before payments can be released, I would like to see the Welsh Government amend its position and ensure that advance payments of up to 70% are made available without delay.
The Welsh Government's Deputy Minister for Farming and Food has previously said that Rural Payments Wales does not have sufficient capacity to process the required number of Single Application Forms to utilise this provision.
This is clearly unacceptable at a time when farmers are facing significant challenges. Given the current levels of volatility in agricultural markets, the Basic Payment Scheme can undoubtedly be a vehicle which can provide the necessary support for the industry to thrive.
The Welsh Government admits that it is possible for early payments to be made but refuse to make it happen. This uncertainty, which can be wholly attributed to the Welsh Government's continued mismanagement of this process, has made it impossible for farmers to plan financially.