Crop irrigation licences under threat (From Western Telegraph)

Crop irrigation licences under threat

Potato producers who abstract water from Pembrokeshire's rivers and streams could have their licences revoked by new European legislation.

Farmers are currently permitted to irrigate crops from their own reservoirs and watercourses if they hold an abstraction licence.

But environmentalists are concerned that abstraction is causing the levels in watercourses to fall to unacceptable levels in the summer, with the subsequent impact on wildlife.

Many licences are historical - granted up to four decades ago - and those are being targeted by legislators. From 2012, licences of right will be revoked without compensation if they are considered to be causing environmental damage.

Pembrokeshire potato producer Walter Simon, a farmer representative on the British Potato Council, (pictured) is hopeful that the legislation will have a minimal impact on Pembrokeshire's farmers.

The majority of local producers have their own reservoirs, which fill with rainwater over the winter in preparation for irrigation in the spring.

"The farmers at risk will be those who are not abiding by the terms of their licences and are therefore at risk anyway,'' said Mr Simon, of West Orielton Farm, Hundleton. The pressure on the environment was such that licences of right needed to be revised, he explained. New licences would be time limited and strictly controlled.

"By and large it is not going to have a great impact on the majority of producers in Pembrokeshire because they are pumping from their own reservoirs,'' added Mr Simon. It is thought that a minimum of four years of records will be required when applying or reapplying for a licence.