West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has welcomed confirmation that county farmers will be able to access extra support to help them cope with rising costs of materials.

The Government has confirmed that payouts for the Basic Payment Scheme will be brought forward as farmers face higher costs of fertiliser and fuel.

The scheme was introduced in 2015 to replace subsidies coming from the Common Agricultural Payments scheme and acts as a safety net for farmers as well as incentivising them to farm in an environmentally-sustainable way.

Harriett recently met with a group of farmers from Upton-upon-Severn and Pershore to hear their concerns and wrote to Farming Minister Victoria Prentis reporting their feedback. Fertiliser costs are at an all-time high and rising diesel costs mean that farmers currently have significant extra upfront costs to plant and grow crops this summer.

Harriett said:

“This is a troubling time for farmers, with significant extra costs to meet in the coming months, and the Government has moved swiftly to help them manage budgets easier through the year.

“The Basic Payments Scheme is an important measure which helps farmers to produce the food that we need for our tables all year round and it was a wise decision to bring the payments forward.

“The terrible war in Ukraine has shown how important it is that we stay in charge of our own food production and as a country we are resilient to product supply issues from elsewhere in the world.

“I regularly meet with farmers to hear their concerns and there was some very useful feedback which I was able to pass on to the Minister after my last meeting.

“I continue to watch this issue closely and will keep in close touch with local farmers to make sure their voices are heard as the Government hones its response to rising costs of gas and oil.”