National IT system 'will save farmers £28m per year'

The government claim a new web-based IT system to help cut the time farmers spend filling in forms and dealing with red tape could save the farming industry up to £28m per year.

The Whole Farm Approach (WFA) system is a Department for Education and Rural Affairs (Defra) initiative and is due to go fully live next year, with the aim of reducing the regulatory burden on farmers.

Encouraging farmers to sign up to use the WFA will be critical to its success and a preview panel of 300 farmers will begin working with the system at a series of regional workshops over the next three months.

The first stage of the system, including a web portal and detailed farm appraisal in the form of a self-assessment package for farmers, went live this week.

There are also plans to continually enhance the WFA system over the next few years to build in further functionality. Key areas being looked at currently include links with farm management software and farm assurance schemes.

The system has been developed by Defra with IBM and SunGuard and provides a single point of access to information held in various government databases, including animal records, integrated administration and control information, habitat maps, water-catchment area data, land designations and archaeological sites.

Farming minister, Lord Bach, said the WFA system will save farmers valuable time and money in their dealings with the government.

He said in a statement: "This is, however, just the beginning. We hope it won't be too long before farmers can use the Whole Farm Approach to do everything from filling out the farm census and applying for the Single Payment Scheme to registering their animals and acquiring their waste licences exemptions."

Tim Bennett, president of the National Farmers Union urged farmers to preview the system to see the benefits for themselves.

"It will reduce duplication and make the requirements of regulation clearer and simpler to follow, allowing farmers to get on with running their businesses rather than chasing paper," he said in a statement.