Farmers Weekly reports that the rural economy in the South West of England is set to lose hundreds of millions of pounds over the next five years due to the withdrawal of direct support payments for farmers

Research published by the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) predicts that £883m will be lost from the rural economy up to 2027 across Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, the Isles of Scilly and Somerset.

The introduction of the post-Brexit Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes will coincide with the phased removal of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), which provided millions of pounds in direct support to farmers and landowners while the UK was a member of the EU.

However, the preliminary support package is expected to be much smaller overall, with other ELM schemes’ funding still in development.

Therefore, the wider impact on the rural economy remains uncertain particularly in the South West which is largely dependent on small, family-run farms.

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Farmers Weekly - Loss of BPS will cost South West economy £883m, report finds