THE Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) Committee has said farmers should feel reassured after the Government announced its support for the committees recent tree planting report.
Ministers welcomed the document, billed as farmer-friendly by the committee, which made several recommendations, including adjusting the permanency requirements which could discourage farmers from testing the viability of tree planting and helping tenant farmers to participate in tree planting schemes, as well as determining how many trees should be planted to achieve Government targets.
Sir Robert Goodwill, chair of the committee, said: We hope farmers will be pleased with the Government following our recommendation to review the permanency requirements of Government schemes to encourage tree planting.
This requirement acts as a blocker to farmers who need to experiment with different forms of land use to see what is viable for them.
Since publication of the report, the Government has revealed it plans to see more than 29,000 hectares planted with trees by 2025. It has also committed to improve mapping to ensure any planting takes place in the most appropriate areas.
The committee went on to say it was pleased with the Governments decision to enable the Tenancies Working Group to consider how tenant farmers can engage with tree planting schemes, describing it as another farmer-friendly recommendation.
Mr Goodwill added: All-in-all, this is a positive response to our report. But no-one should rest on their laurels. We shall be watching very carefully to ensure these commitments are followed through.
