Horticulture may have to navigate more ‘red tape’ in dealing with new laws despite a derogation on the Nitrates Directive for Nitrate Vulnerable Zones in the UK, according to the National Farmers’ Union (NFU).

The two main conditions of the derogation were that a whole farm would not exceed an application limit of 250 kilogrammes of nitrogen per hectare per year and also that farmers will need to apply annually to the Environment Agency for the derogation. The derogation is likely to come into effect in the autumn.

Gwyn Jones, chairman of the NFU’s dairy board, said: “I am disappointed at the increased burden of regulation attached to the derogation, especially regarding fertilisation plans for individual fields and the need for annual reapplication for derogation.

“Despite this additional bureaucracy, this is a major lobbying success for the NFU, and we will continue to lobby for further changes to the plan, especially for a package of financial assistance that will help farmers meet the demanding requirements of the directive.”

The NFU and NPA remain confident they can build on support received from MEPs to continue the battle against proposed changes to the Integrated Pollution Prevention Controls (IPPC) Directive.

The NFU fear the proposals would adversely affect the horticulture sector and wish to protect agriculture and horticulture from unnecessary costs and red tape.

NFU deputy president Meurig Raymond said: “I would like to thank MEPs and ministers, particularly Jane Kennedy, for their support which added significant weight to today’s vote. This has given us clear priorities for the next stage when the directive goes to Council.

“IPPC is by far the most comprehensive environmental regime we have seen and the effects of these changes could be very serious, adding significant costs and burdens.

“This legislation was originally meant for larger, heavy industry such as power stations and we want MEPs to recognize that agriculture and horticulture are different to other businesses within the IPPC. Most are small family-run businesses with limited capacity to manage the very broad nature of IPPC and what’s needed to fulfil implementation and compliance.

“There is still plenty of time to defeat these rules before they are rubber-stamped by EU ministers and I remain committed to lobbying for the amendments to be rejected.”

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