Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0053/00530.txt

Text File | 1991-06-24 | 24KB | 428 lines

$Unique_ID{COW00530}
$Pretitle{405}
$Title{United Kingdom
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC}
$Affiliation{Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC}
$Subject{wales
housing
areas
conservation
cent
per
million
britain
environment
land}
$Date{1990}
$Log{Snowdown*0053001.scf
}
Country:     United Kingdom
Book:        Wales
Author:      Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC
Affiliation: Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC
Date:        1990

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing

[See Snowdown: Pass of Aberglaslyn in Gwynedd. Courtesy Embassy of the United
Kingdom, New York.]

Agriculture

     Agricultural land occupies nearly 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million
acres), accounting for about 82 per cent of the area of Wales. It consists
mainly of permanent pastures, a significant proportion of which are rough
grazings. Because of the relatively poor soil, high rainfall and consequent
dependence on livestock rearing, 80 per cent of the land is designated as
'less favoured areas' by the European Community. The main farming activities
within these areas are cattle and sheep rearing, dairying being the most
important activity in the better parts of the areas and in the lowlands.

     Approximately 65 million Pounds, over half funded by the Community, is
paid to farmers in Wales under a range of grant schemes. Much of the arable
land is used to produce cereals for feeding livestock, while winter
cauliflowers, spring cabbages and early potatoes are important cash crops in
parts of Dyfed.

     Output from small farms is more significant than in most of the rest of
Britain, but modernisation in agriculture has led to a gradual decrease in the
number of small farms and to a reduction in the workforce. In 1988 there were
some 3,400 full-time employees, compared with nearly 24,000 in 1961. Including
employers, 54,000 people were engaged in agriculture in 1988.

     The Government is encouraging alternatives uses of farmland to increase
diversity on farms and in the rural economy, and to enhance environmental
protection. The farm diversification scheme, which came into force in 1988, is
intended to assist farmers in developing alternative commercial uses for
agricultural businesses and land, to alleviate the problem of surplus
production. Grants are available for investment in, for example, tourism,
rural crafts, farm shops, catering on farms and pony trekking.

     The Farm Woodland Scheme provides grants for tree planting, with more
generous provision for broadleaved planting and incentives to plant on more
productive land. The European Community 'set-aside' scheme offers compensation
to farmers who are willing to take at least 20 per cent of their land carrying
surplus arable crops out of production for a period of five years.

     Certain areas of farmland have now been designated as 'Environmentally
Sensitive Areas'. In Wales there are two such areas, the Lleyn Peninsula
(Gwynedd) and the Cambrian Mountains (Powys and Dyfed). Farmers participating
in the scheme are offered financial incentives to maintain the broad pattern
of land use, to protect the rough grazing, hay meadows and archaeological
features and to retain broadleaved woodland.

     The Government's Agricultural Development and Advisory Service provides
a wide range of professional, scientific, technical and veterinary services
for agriculture and its ancillary industries. Most types of advice and
servicing are on a fee-paying basis, although advice to farmers on
conservation, rural diversification and animal welfare is available free. The
service promotes conservation of wildlife habitats, landscape features and
farm buildings, and encourages the industry to adopt high standards of
pollution control.

Forestry and Fishing

     About 12 per cent of Wales is covered by woodlands, of which about 54 per
cent (132,800 hectares - 326,000 acres) is administered by the Forestry
Commission, the national forestry authority. In line with government policy
to sell off some of its land to reduce the call on public funds, the Forestry
Commission has disposed of some 8,700 hectares (21,500 acres) in Wales since
1981, about 6 per cent of its total holdings. Timber production was about
756,000 cubic metres (988,000 cubic yards) in 1987-88.

     In 1988 a woodland grant scheme was introduced, with increased rates of
grant for the planting of conifers and broadleaves, and a wide range of
objectives: not only to produce timber, but also to provide employment and an
alternative to agricultural production, and to encourage recreation and
conservation of the environment.

     Fishing occupies a relatively small place in the economy, with Milford
Haven and Holyhead being the largest ports in the Welsh industry.

Transport and Communications

     Improvements to road and rail links in Wales have played a vital part in
the revival of its economy in recent years, and great importance has been
attached to ensuring the adequacy of communications between the main centres
of population in Wales and the rest of Britain.

Roads

     Investment in the trunk road programme has been maintained at a high
level and expenditure on the roads programme for 1989-90 will exceed 130
million Pounds. The completion of most of the M4 motorway (see map) has given
south Wales much improved access to raw materials and markets in southern
England, the Midlands and the north via the national motorway network,
assisting the considerable economic recovery of the area. Almost 160 km (100
miles) of continuous motorway and dual carriageway have now been completed
between the Severn Bridge and St Clears, Dyfed. A second road crossing of the
Severn is planned for the mid-1990s.

     Priority is being given to the improvement of roads which are important
for industrial development, for example the upgrading to dual-carriageway
standard of the A55 north Wales coast road between Bangor and Chester, at a
cost of 550 million Pounds, which includes the construction under the Conwy
estuary of the first immersed tube road tunnel to be built in Britain. A
tunnel was chosen in preference to a bridge in order to preserve the
environment of Conwy Castle and estuary; 160 million Pounds is being invested
in the tunnel, which will be over 1 km (0.6 miles) in length and will enable
British companies to gain expertise in novel construction techniques. Already
72 of the 100 km (45 of the 60 miles) of the A55 between Bangor and Chester
have been completed, and when the project is finished the journey time will
be reduced substantially.

     Improvements to the A470 and A483 north-south routes have been carried
out, and more are planned. In the south Wales valleys, for example, travelling
time from Cardiff to Merthyr Tydfil by car has been cut considerably, with the
completion of improvements to the A470 which have brought it to
dual-carriageway standard.

Rail

     InterCity 125 services, operated by British Rail using high-speed trains,
run on the route linking London, Bristol and south Wales, and also on the
cross-country route from south Wales to Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds and
Newcastle upon Tyne. The InterCity service operates through south Wales as far
as Fishguard and from London to Holyhead in the north (in both cases linking
with ferry services to the Irish Republic). Cross-country express services
also run from Cardiff to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Portsmouth,
Shrewsbury and Chester, and other main-line services link south, mid and north
Wales. Improved rail services are helping to stimulate the economy in the
south Wales valleys; in Mid Glamorgan the rail link between Cardiff and
Aberdare was re-opened to passenger traffic in 1988 after a closure of 24
years, and new stations have been opened in the Rhondda valley.

     There are a small number of privately run rail lines in Wales, on which
mostly steam trains operate, primarily for tourists and railway enthusiasts;
they include the Ffestiniog Ra