Member Article

BPS 2018 Implications for UK Farmers with New EU Pesticide Ban

Under new rules of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), voted for by MEPs, the use of pesticides in Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs) will be prohibited. The legislative change, which will be implemented from January 2018, means that pesticide use will no longer be allowed on crops and land that are counted as an EFA, affecting farmers across the region.

The changes to the EFA rules means pesticide use will no longer be allowed on nitrogen-fixing crops, fallow, cover and catch crops that are counted as EFA. However, the exact rules are yet to be set.

David Hume, a Farm Business Consultant at land, property and business consultancy George F. White, said: “This will have a major impact on farmers affected by the Greening rules under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) funding next year because, to qualify for the Greening element of BPS payments, those farmers with more than 15 hectares of arable land must designate at least 5% of their land as EFA. It’s a huge deal because the ban will affect almost all the features eligible to use as EFA. It is certainly a concern for a large number of farmers who grow peas and beans to meet their EFA requirements, as this now questions the viability of growing the crop commercially, as well as to meet the greening rules for BPS. Essentially, it will mean farmers profitability will be squeezed even further at a time when farming support and subsidy needs to be at a maximum.”

Before applying for their BPS funding for 2018, farmers will have to re-address their business and land and decide whether they need to utilise other land to meet the EFA requirements without affecting income level both from a funding and crop-selling perspective.

Hume continued: “The EU needs to make the new regulations a lot clearer so that farmers can prepare and decide appropriately. It is also vital that farmers seek advice and guidance on how best to approach the 2018 BPS application process to ensure they meet the EFA guidelines but are not hindered by the new pesticide ban. The new changes might make the process trickier so it’s imperative farmers seek assistance to maximise funding opportunities.”

For more information on the 2018 BPS application process and the incoming pesticide ban, please contact David Hume on davidhume@georgefwhite.co.uk or 01665 511986.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by George F White .