ENVIRONMENT Secretary Margaret Beckett has been warned that farmers will go out of business if the Government delays making single farm payments any longer. West Devon Borough Council is urging the Secretary of State to halt the delay and speed up the payments to the farmers who have been waiting for more than a year for the money. The council unanimously agreed to lobby Mrs Beckett and Agriculture Minister Ben Bradshaw to act immediately to make the long-promised payments with interest on the outstanding debt. The council is also demanding that the Government apologises publicly to farmers for the long delay ?caused by the excess bureaucracy and incompetence at the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)?. Cllr Dick Eberlie, chairman of the council?s strategies and resources committee, who brought the issue before the council, said: ?This is massive inefficiency. This Government is urban focused and just does not understand rural life. ?These payments are critical to our farmers and to our rural communities and their economy. ?We need to send a clear signal to Defra that we are behind our farming communities and their welfare is being seriously neglected at the moment.? The council has also learnt that West Devon farmers face an average 12% reduction in their single farm payments for next year. In a letter to Mrs Beckett, the council says: ?This will inevitably have a very serious knock on effect for the rest of the rural economy, particularly in districts like this one with a significant level of hill farming. ?The diverse agricultural support industry in our area is already seeing an alarming downturn in business as a direct consequence of the delays in making these essential payments.? The council reiterates that the single farm payment made under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is vital to the survival of many farmers. The authority fears that farmers may not receive payment until the final legal deadline of June 30, even though Welsh and Scottish farmers received their funds before Christmas. The letter adds: ?As a result, at best, farmers have been severely disadvantaged and at worst, they will go out of business.?
