Published: 03 April 2006
Whole Farm Approach goes Live
The Whole Farm Approach, Defra's new web-based system designed to save England's farmers time and money, has gone live and is now open to the country's 120,000 farms.
This follows the launch on 13th September 2005 of system previews with over 300 farmers who used the system at a series of 30 regional workshops. According to Defra, more than 98% of participants expressed "satisfaction" or better with the system.
Farmers who sign up for the system will be able to start simplifying the way they do business with Government - helping to cut red tape affecting the industry and saving it up to £28m a year.
The Whole Farm Approach is among the first practical steps taken by Defra to reduce the burden of bureaucracy on business. It was one of the measures identified in Partners for Success: A Farm Regulation and Charging Strategy.
Farmers who register for the system will get access to the Whole Farm Approach web portal and receive a free CD which will enable them to install on their computers Appraisal, the self-assessment package which builds a detailed appraisal of their farm and its business.
The web portal will give participants access to a number of useful tools such as business benchmarking and links to other helpful sites.
Using the Appraisal, farmers should be able, from a single source, to:
· evaluate the strengths & weaknesses of their business
· check that the details they provide are up to date & accurately recorded, and
· get help, advice & information on farming practices
The concept is that Whole Farm Approach means that data only needs to be entered once so it will reduce the time farmers spend filling out forms. By building a more complete profile of a farm's business, it will also help reduce the chances of being selected for inspections which are carried out on the basis of risk.
The Whole Farm Approach has been developed in partnership with the industry, Defra agencies and public bodies such as the Environment Agency, Health and Safety Executive and Food Standards Agency.
It will continue to be developed to offer new functions that will let farmers transact business electronically with Defra and other bodies. By the summer it should enable farmers to apply for waste exemption licences and allow completion of their June agricultural survey online.
The Whole Farm Approach is being developed by Defra and its IT consultants IBM and SunGard and is the first of a number of major initiatives to be delivered under the IT outsourcing agreement signed in October 2004.
Further information
Whole Farm Approach website
Partners for Success: A Farm Regulation and Charging Strategy
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