Agriculture Working Group

Acting Chair: Abi Bunker, RSPB
Vice Chair: Ian Woodhurst, CPRE
Secretary: Kirsten Loveday

The Agriculture Working Group works to support and deliver a sustainable, high quality, multi-functional rural environment through influencing and monitoring policy on rural development, agri-environment, bioenergy, and animal welfare standards. The group leads Link’s CAP Reform Campaign, which calls for a clear route map with measurable milestones for the CAP to evolve into a European Sustainable Land Management Policy by 2020.

Update from the group : January 2012

Crunch time for CAP

The Joint Links’ report - Crunch Time for CAP - produced by Wildlife and Countryside Link and our sister Links in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, has continued to receive encouraging  feedback since its Westminster launch in November. For example, on 11 January, Link met with Kerry McCarthy MP and Simon Hart MP to discuss the report in more detail. These were both very positive meetings and we will continue to liaise with them and other Parliamentarians in the lead up to CAP reform.

Link Agriculture Working Group meeting

This month the Agriculture Working Group (AWG) met on 24 January to discuss Link’s response to Defra’s discussion paper on the impact in England of EU Commission regulatory proposals for Common Agricultural Policy reform, post 2013. The deadline for responses is 5 March. Link will be submitting a response to this consultation based on the Joint Links Crunch Time for CAP report.

Agri-Environment Stakeholder Group

The Agri-Environment Stakeholder Group (AESG) held a workshop on Nature Improvement Areas (NIAs) on 25 January. The final list of 12 NIAs is yet to be confirmed  but it was agreed that NIAs will be provided with funding for three years starting 1 April 2012. The next meeting of the AESG is on 20 March, by which time the list of NIAs will be complete and the group can discuss NIA process in more detail.