Farming payments prioritised

Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme (LFASS) funding will support farmers hit by severe weather.

In the wake of severe weather conditions, significant efforts are being made to get vital Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme(LFASS) payments into farmers’ bank accounts as soon as possible.

Part of the Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP), LFASS provides support to farmers in areas where production conditions are extremely difficult and have been further hampered by snow and ice.

Farmers should expect payments to commence no later than the end of February 2011.

Rural Affairs Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead says: ‘Farmers in Scotland’s less favoured areas have had to contend with some of the harshest winter weather conditions we have witnessed in 50 years. I realise that LFASS funding is crucial to the upkeep of these farms, and to farmers’ livelihoods, especially under the circumstances.

‘EC regulations stipulate that we must complete all inspections in less favoured areas before any payments can be made. The same freezing conditions experienced by farmers made it impossible for officials to travel to remote rural areas and complete the necessary checks for over a month. We had very real concerns about the health and safety of inspectors, and the farmers involved in inspections.

‘Nonetheless, I want to reassure farmers that officials are treating the payments as an absolute priority, pulling out all the stops to ensure checks are completed as soon as possible and money starts to hit bank accounts by the end of February.

‘This follows on from the speedy payment of Single Farm Payments, where 96 per cent of farmers have now been paid’.

LFASS funding objectives are to:

• Offset the impact of permanent natural handicaps on production costs;
• Combat depopulation of rural areas;
• Protect and maintain the countryside and environment.

85% of Scotland’s agricultural area has less favoured area status, and of this 98% is classified as severely disadvantaged.

LFASS eligibility is based on individual farmers’ circumstances. As a result, claims require manual processing and payments will be made over a period of several weeks.

Farmers with outstanding LFASS eligibility queries or who have not provided current bank account details should contact their local Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate (RPID) office.