Organic farming
Organic farming
Agriculture Minister Nick Brown recently announced that assistance for farmers converting to organic production would be doubled. The increase is aimed at persuading more farmers to go organic to help meet the growing demand for this produce. The numbers in the Ministrys conversion aid scheme doubled in 1998.Over 20,000 hectares went organic during this year but it still amounts to less than one per cent of the total agricultural area. The money being spent on research and more resources for advising farmers on the practicalities of conversion has been increased to£2 million a year. The indications are that in the period 1992 to 1997, sales of organic foods in the UK increased by around 250 per cent, but of this around 60 to 70 per cent is imported mostly from elsewhere in the EU. Payment rates to organic farmers will increase from £250 to £450 per hectare over five years for most arable land and temporary grass and from £50 to £350 for other improved land in the uplands.
