The Efra Select Committee has told the government it should champion hill farming and the uplands.
Its report, published yesterday, calls for action - and not another long-term strategy.
Defra’s plan for the uplands must have clear outcomes, timescales and responsibilities, says the report, and increasing hill farm incomes and efficiency should be the department’s “first priority”.
Will Cockbain, the NFU's national upland spokesman, gave evidence during the Inquiry. He welcomed the committee’s findings.
“There is much we support in the recommendations”, he said. “We urge Defra to act swiftly given the parlous state of many hill farms facing increasing costs this winter.
“Farming must be at the heart of any Defra action in the hills and that payments should go to active farmers whose livestock play a key role in environmental management of the uplands.
“And we also share the Committee's concern that Defra acts to improve efficiency and profitability as this offers the best chance for family farm succession.
“The report is right to recommend that new markets alongside food are developed. However, these must deliver incomes for those that manage the land and complement our increasingly important role as food producers.
“We also support a review of the Uplands Entry Level Scheme (UELS) uptake as the challenges to entry for tenants, especially those on shorter tenancies, and commoners is a major concern for the NFU.
“However, we are not in favour of a return to the old headage system which was bureaucratic and distanced the farmer from the market place.”
Visit the NFUonline hill farming and tenants channel here.
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