Introduction
Scottish Ministers believe that a Single Farm Payment Scheme (SFPS) using the historic approach will provide stability for farmers so they can adapt to the major changes that full decoupling will bring. Specifically, the opportunities for meeting the objectives of the Forward Strategy for Scottish Agriculture - including freedom to farm and market-orientation - and should lead to a more sustainable agriculture sector.
The SFPS is part of the CAP Reform arrangements that were announced in February 2004. The Scheme features;
- Decoupling support from production i.e. subsidy farmers receive will no longer be linked to the level of production; and
- Payments will be based on subsidy receipts during the reference period 2000-2002. This is referred to as the historic approach and is the standard system envisaged in the European legislation.
Outline of scheme
The scheme outline page provides a brief summary of the purpose of the SFPS. The various options down the left hand side provide more in depth information about the scheme.
Exchange rate for SFPS
The exchange rate for the 2008 Single Farm Payment Scheme will be £0.79030 to the euro. The rate, set by the European Central Bank, will apply to all direct aid scheme payments - such as Single Farm Payment and Scottish Beef Calf Schemes and represents a change of +13.4% from 2007.
Single Farm Payment Leaflets
A series of 11 information leaflets were sent out to producers during 2004. The leaflet index provides details of all of these documents.