News in brief: UK Farmers associations have criticised the government for delaying the Agriculture Transition Fund, warning of increased financial pressure. The government attributed the delay to technical issues, assuring the aggrieved farmers that the funds will be available soon.
The National Farmers Union (NFU) and the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) have condemned the government’s decision to delay the release of funding for farmers.
The NFU said that the delay was ‘unacceptable’ and it would put farmers under even more ‘financial pressure’. Meanwhile, the CLA said there was ‘no room left for further delays’ and urged the government to ‘get on with getting the money out the door.’
The government has blamed the delay on ‘technical issues, promising to release funding as soon as possible. However, the farmers’ organisations are concerned that the delay will have a significant impact on their businesses.
The funding, which is supposed to come through the UK government’s Agriculture Transition Fund, designed to help farmers transition to more sustainable farming practices, has been announced to be £2 billion over the next five years.
Farmers are already facing a number of challenges, including rising input costs and the threat of climate change, NFU Vice President David Exwood said. The delayed funding worsens the situation.
In a statement, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) said they understood the challenges that farmers are facing. The agency said it will always listen to their concerns and assured that work was in progress to release the funding soon. It also promised to provide further updates in due course.
