Welsh Assembly rural affairs minister Elin Jones has announced that fruit and vegetable producers in Wales will be eligible to apply for Single Payment Scheme (SPS) entitlement for the first time, from May 2010.

According to the minister, opening up SPS entitlement to fruit and vegetable producers would reinforce the Welsh Assembly Government’s One Wales commitment to significantly increase local food procurement.

“The position on fruit and vegetables brings the regime into line with other CAP reforms and providing a basis for horticulture producers to claim under the SPS is a logical extension to the scheme was implemented in Wales in 2005,” Elin said.

Potential claimants will need to satisfy eligibility requirements, as well as meeting the CAP cross compliance standards including keeping land in good environmental and agricultural condition.

The direct payments to fruit and vegetable producers will be at the average level per hectare of the SPS in Wales and based on production hectarage in 2007.

The projected entitlement value is £249 per hectare, but is subject to change in the light of further work and applications would need to be lodged in May 2010, with payments due from the following December.

National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Cymru horticulture board delegate, Walter Simon, said he was pleased the Welsh horticultural sector was being recognised for the benefits it brought to the Welsh economy and that the anomaly of Welsh fruit and vegetable producers being ineligible for SFP was now ending, but likened the situation to robbing Peter to pay Paul.

“When NFU Cymru responded to the assembly consultation we suggested the possibility of using unallocated, or clawed back SFP entitlements held in the national reserve to bring fruit and vegetable growers into the scheme,” said Simon.

“Although the cost of bringing new claimants into the SPS has been estimated at 0.32 per cent of the total budget, we are disappointed the money will have to be found from within the existing financial ceiling - meaning that a small top slice is taken from each and every SFP entitlement in Wales to fund it.”

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