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Dairy Farmers

Volume 407: debated on Wednesday 25 June 2003

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To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether it is her policy that direct payments made to dairy farmers under the single farm payment scheme will be allocated only to active producers. [120266]

We agree that, at the outset, dairy compensation payments should be directed to dairy farmers rather than to those who have already left the sector. But with decoupling proposals, single farm payments would not require recipients to remain in dairy thereafter, providing that their land remained in cross compliance. This is all subject to the continuing negotiations on the CAP reform package.