Burscough, Lancashire, UK. 22nd Sep, 2015. Bean Nitrogen Fixing crop ready for harvest. Most of the bean crop is grown for stock feed and is used as a locally grown GM free alternative to protein crops like soya. The growing of beans on otherwise fallow land qualifies the farmer for EU subsidies of £20 per acre and tie 30% of a farmer's subsidy payments to the new environmental requirements. The major human consumption market for beans is the Middle East where beans are used prior to the Ramadan fasting period. Credit: Cernan Elias/Alamy Live News
Grants designed to protect the countryside have been controversially switched to pay England's farmers to grow beans and peas. The EU's new rules on subsidies oblige farmers to ensure that some of their land supports wild plants and animals. But during negotiations, farmers in Europe watered down the policy so planting crops that improve soil may be counted as helping wildlife. Wildlife campaigners have expressed outrage at the move. Member states can tighten the EU rule if they want to, but England's farmers persuaded the government this would make them uncompetitive. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced that planting peas and beans in so-called Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs) will qualify for full grants. A spokesman said: "We have included Nitrogen Fixing Crops as an EFA because we want farmers to have as much flexibility as possible so they can focus on growing British food. We are supporting the environment through investing over £3bn in agri-environment schemes over the next CAP, which is more than ever before." Today's announcement focuses on the "greening" element of the CAP, which will tie 30% of a farmer's subsidy payments to new environmental requirements.
Size: 3500px × 2333px
Location: Burscough, Lancashire, UK.
Photo credit: © EnVogue_Photo / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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Keywords: agri-environment, agriculture, bean, beans, burscough, crops, economic, england, english, farm, farmers, farming, farmland, farms, field, fields, fixing, foliage, growing, harvest, lancashire, landscape, landscapes, legumes, nitrogen, plant, plants, protein, pulses, ripe, ripening, rotational, schemes, seed, tree, trees, uk
