Farmers urged to check payments released by Government

NFU Cymru is advising farmers to check their basic payment scheme statement carefully now that payments are steadily being released by Welsh Government.

Speaking at the NFU Cymru Clwyd Conference last week, NFU Cymru deputy president John Davies said; “This week’s announcement that over 50% of Welsh farmers will begin to receive their Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) part payments is good news but we’re advising farmers to check their payment statements carefully in light of issues arising with discrepancies.

“It is important to highlight that once you receive these payments you should carefully check the payment statement which is available via Rural Payments Wales (RPW) online to make sure that everything is in order.

“With the first year of this new scheme and the well-known com- plications in rules and the changes to the eligibility of land with trees it is important that if there are any discrepancies in terms of the land area declared by RPW compared to what you feel is correct then these need to be queried and challenged with RPW as soon as possible.

“NFU Cymru has already come across a number of cases where we feel that penalties have been unfairly applied and we have taken this matter up with Welsh Government.”

Mr Davies added: “Rural Payments Wales must continue to put every available resource into getting payments out to all farmers with the minimum of delay.

“This year has seen a cash flow crisis affecting all sectors of the industry in Wales and the importance of EU support payments is crucial in helping to compensate farmers for market failure, manage price volatility and reward high standards of farming.”