Farming in the uplands

Book excerpt: In this report MPs recommend changes to the way money from the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is used to support hill farmers. Farming, in particular grazing livestock, is an essential part of the landscapes and traditional systems of land management in these beautiful and fragile areas. A return to headage payments in limited circumstances, with appropriate environmental conditions to prevent overstocking, would provide fairer funding to hill farmers. The Committee also calls on the Government to do more to enable hill farmers to diversify into other land management activities-such as carbon storage and water quality schemes. The report calls on the Government to demonstrate a stronger commitment to upland communities. Having abolished the Commission for Rural Communities - the public body that advised Government on rural issues -the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs must ensure that rural policies and their delivery are not neglected. Ministers should: publish a strategy for the uplands that sets out a clear action plan with practical measures to be implemented immediately; provide strong leadership to make sure that rural and upland communities get a fair deal; create a statutory definition of the uplands to assist in targeting policy; ensure all farmers and rural communities can get access to development grants once RDAs have been abolished; work across Government to put in place policies that support those that live and work in the uplands, in particular rolling out super-fast broadband for remote rural communities and increasing the availability of affordable housing.