Hill farmers worst hit by foot-and-mouth

Mar 4 2008 by Elin Jones, Western Mail

IN LAST week’s farm business income statistics there was proof, if it were needed, of the impact on our hill and upland farmers of last year’s foot-and-mouth outbreak in England. However, there were also some positive figures, such as an increase in income for dairy farmers and indications of a more stable market for the beef sector.

The figures, showing that farmers in the less-favoured areas were the worst hit by foot-and-mouth, were, sadly, not unexpected. The Welsh Assembly Government recently assessed the economic cost of the disease at £21m for Welsh livestock producers of which £19.6m is for the sheep sector.

I still maintain that there is a clear responsibility on the UK Government to provide the industry in Wales with a financial recovery package, and I continue to argue that case with London. In the meantime, the Welsh Assem- bly Government has taken a positive step in deciding to commit its own money to help offset the financial difficulties arising directly from foot-and-mouth in England.

The Welsh Assembly Government has now committed a total of £13m to boost farming in Wales. This includes a new £8.7m compensation package for sheep farmers in less-favoured areas, as it is these farmers who have been most affected by foot-and-mouth.

In addition, £100,000 has been made available to the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution in recognition of the valuable work they carried out in financially supporting Welsh farming families.

In a further attempt to secure a sustainable future for the sheep sector in Wales, I met the United Arab Emirates Environment Minister in Dubai last month to press his Government to re-open the market for Welsh lamb following the ban on exports as a result of foot-and-mouth disease.

He assured me that now the UK has been declared animal disease free, the UAE would take steps to put Welsh lamb on the menu.

Sheep farmers in Wales should explore every opportunity to enter the lucrative market of two billion consumers in the Middle East.

Looking to the future, our Rural Development Plan has been given the green light by the European Commission’s Rural Development Committee. This is excellent news. The fact the plan has been approved means that the Welsh Assembly Government has secured £195m of European money to support an overall spend of £795m in the farming and forestry sectors and our rural communities through to 2013. Now we are able to get on with implementing the actions in the plan. This will include the 2008 Tir Mynydd scheme where payments will be released from this week.