Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:-
After a North Antrim farmer lost a portion of his Single Farm Payment for using a sprayer without having completed City & Guilds training at CAFRE, his local MLA, Jim Allister, has hit out at what he describes as “the absurdity and overbearing nature of the Pesticide Regulations.”
Under The Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012 a farmer born after 31 December 1964 must have a spraying certificate to even use a knapsack sprayer. This certificate or licence can only be obtained by attending a 2.5 day course, at a cost of over £200, at Greenmount. Older farmers have ‘grandfather rights’, which exempt them, but these rights are expiring next year on 25 November 2015. Thereafter, every farmer will be subjected to these draconian EU requirements.
Commenting Jim Allister said:
“It is absurd, but typical of the over-regulated environment imposed by Brussels, that an experienced farmer cannot now even use a knapsack sprayer without being licensed. To require him to give up two and a half days to undergo a course at CAFRE and pay extortionately for the privilege, adds to the absurdity of the situation. It seems to me that this is being turned into a money-making racket by CAFRE. I will be calling on the department to look afresh at how onerous they have made these regulations.”