The Farmers’ Union of Wales today warned farmers to take extra care when filling in their single payment forms – or risk losing all of their Single Payments.
FUW president Gareth Vaughan said: “Over recent years the FUW has dealt with significant numbers of cases where inadvertent errors have led to members losing a large proportion of their Single Payments.
“In some cases, tiny errors such as a box ticked incorrectly have led to the loss of entire Single Payments, equating to losses of tens of thousands of pounds for farm businesses.”
The FUW has lobbied the Welsh Assembly Government and the European Parliament on the issue over a long period, urging them to adopt a proportionate approach to mistakes that are obvious errors or are the result of exceptional circumstances.
“However, WAG insists that the rules relating to obvious errors are extremely narrow and that EU auditors give them little or no leeway to be fair. This is even the case where all parties acknowledge that an inaccuracy was an inadvertent error,” Mr Vaughan said.
He also urged farmers to carefully check the IACS/SAF acknowledgement letters that are issued by WAG as soon as they are received, and to notify any errors to WAG immediately.
“If WAG detects an error, the first a farmer may know about it is when they fail to receive their Single Payment in December. They will then have to go through the appeals process, which can take years and cost thousands of pounds, with no guarantee of a positive outcome at the end.”
Mr Vaughan added: “Farmers should also notify WAG of any exceptional circumstances or Force Majeure that may affect their businesses as soon they are in a position to do so.
“We believe that many of the penalties applied under the current regime are completely immoral and disproportionate, and some of the cases the FUW has dealt with are truly heartbreaking. We are therefore committed to fighting for a more proportionate and fair penalty system.
“However, under the current regime the best way to minimise the risk of penalties is by checking and double-checking every single detail on the IACS, and by exercising extreme caution with regard to every aspect of the farm management and paperwork.”
