Funding doubles for green farming and rural jobs
Helen has welcomed plans to spend £3.9 billion on environmentally friendly farming and forestry and enhancing employment opportunities in rural England.
The money will be spent over the next seven years from 2007 to 2013 through the Government’s new Rural Development Programme for England, which is co-funded by the European Union. The budget is more than double the amount for the previous seven years from 2000 to 2006.
Most of the money, £3.3 billion is earmarked for environmental and land management schemes. A further £600 million will be allocated to schemes to make agriculture and forestry more competitive and to enhance opportunity in rural areas.
The announcement marks a major victory for the Government. Some MEPs in the European Parliament voted against a new regulation that enables a proportion of funds to be transferred from farming subsidies to rural development. The blockage was finally lifted In March. Without using the new regulation, spending on environmental stewardship and other rural development schemes would be slashed by £1.4 billion.
Helen Goodman, Labour MP for Bishop Auckland, said:
“There have been some difficult times for local farmers in recent years due to the terrible problems with the Rural Payments Agency. But this money is good news for farming and the countryside and will help ensure our environment is protected.
“Farmers will get more money in return for doing more to protect wildlife and the countryside.”
Filed under: Uncategorized on April 3rd, 2007
