Cornwall's chance to shape the future of farming and rural life
A CAP workshop in Cornwall will bring together farmers, businesses and environmental groups to discuss funding with minister Dan Rogerson.
CAP workshop in Cornwall
Defra minister Dan Rogerson will be discussing the future of farming, the rural economy and the countryside with Cornish farmers, businesses and environmental groups this Friday. A Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) workshop will bring the minister together with local people to discuss how the county can benefit from the UK’s £20 billion CAP funding over the next seven years.
Cornwall’s businesses and communities have already benefitted from CAP through schemes such as the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE). A £5m RDPE grant to Trewithen Dairy in Lostwithiel created more than 50 jobs and greatly aided farmers across the county by increasing milk-processing capacity by over 400%.
Overall, more than £100m of Defra funding since 2007 has contributed to economic growth across the south west, supporting over 2,700 businesses and projects in the region and creating hundreds of local jobs.
The Government has suggested that more CAP funding should be channelled into these sorts of schemes. The workshop is part of a consultation that is seeking views on transferring 15% of the budget for direct payments to farmers into the budget for improving the environment and growing the rural economy.
Defra minister Dan Rogerson, said:
Having grown up in the Cornish countryside, I’ve seen first-hand the benefits that well-invested CAP funding can bring to rural areas.
The government wants to support more rural communities through CAP funding, and we are keen to hear the thoughts of Cornish farmers, businesses and local communities on this at the workshop in Truro on the 22nd November.
To find out more about the CAP consultation workshop, and to register a place, please contact rdpedeliverysouthwest@defra.gsi.gov.uk. For more information, please visit the rdpe website
Responses to the consultation can also be made online, via email to capconsultation@defra.gsi.gov.uk or by post to CAP Consultation, Area 1D, Defra, Nobel House, Smith Square, SW1P 3JR.
Notes
The public consultation on the future of England’s Common Agricultural Policy is open for comments.