Lifting the burden

IT IS difficult to imagine two more varied attitudes towards life than the stoic, practical, can-do approach of the typical farmer and the narrow, pettifogging bureaucracy of the Government inspector. So it is hardly surprising that farmers are giving only a cautious welcome to Government promises to spare the bureaucratic rod.

On the face of it, of course, the incentive scheme announced by Agriculture Minister Jim Paice makes eminent sense. Targeting inspections at those farms with the worst records on environmental protection and animal welfare, while reducing the number of visits by endless different agencies, should be a huge help in lifting the regulatory burden from the majority of farmers who actually comply with the rules.

However, as every small businessman knows, we have been here before. As fast as well-intentioned governments try to hack back the regulatory thickets, so bureaucracies – by their very nature – continually sprout new ones. And of no bureaucracy is this more accurate than the European Union which plays such a key role in making farmers’ lives a misery.

Reducing regulation so that businesses can operate freely and efficiently is notoriously difficult. And the National Farmers’ Union is quite correct in assuming that there is a big difference between fine words from Mr Paice and the Government actually putting them into action.