Britain's farming leader demanded on Wednesday the government launch emergency measures to pay subsidies quickly to help thousands of farmers who face mounting debts because of delays.
The government said it would miss a deadline to pay farmers this month under a single-payment scheme launched in one of the biggest shake-ups in European agriculture to encourage farmers to maintain the countryside as well as farm it more efficiently.
Peter Kendall, president of the National Farmers' Union which represents farmers in England and Wales, told the government that many farmers would be pushed into debt and some out of business if it failed to pay up soon. "This situation is pushing farmers to the edge. This has become a cash flow crisis across the whole of the agricultural industry affecting suppliers as well as farmers," Kendall said in a statement ahead of meeting Food and Farming Minister Lord Bach.
After the meeting, the government, its payments' agency and the union agreed that a speedy end to the stand-off was needed, but Bach said he could not give any new deadlines for payments.
A raft of difficulties, including a computer log jam at the government agency, the Rural Payments Agency, has meant several deadlines for payments have not been met.
The agency's chief executive has departed and politicians say they are not sure when payments might be made. Margaret Beckett, secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, has launched a review into the agency and its work.
Some farmers say they have waited for 18 months for the money and complain that the new pan-European single payment system - which replaces a series of funding streams - is too complicated, with a confusing range of evaluations. The National Farmers' Union suggested launching an "emergency system where payments are made 'on account' manually if necessary". The union, government and agency agreed to meet again in a week.
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