The rivers of East Devon
and West Dorset will provide the backdrop next
week for a ground-breaking visit by a team of
French farmers from the Bélon area in south
Finistère, Brittany.
The seven European visitors
will join FWAG officers Ian Panton and John Hickey
on a special fact-finding tour of the Rivers Char
and Axe at the end of May as part of a European
funded project known as Cycleau.
The project is designed to promote
the importance of achieving high standards of
water quality in the rivers and estuaries of South
West England, Western France and North West Ireland,
where clean wholesome water is vital not only
to the fish
population but also to oyster production.
The Axe/Char Cycleau project
was set up in 2003 with the support of the Environment
Agency, English Nature, East Devon District Council,
Westcountry Rivers Trust, and Devon and Dorset
County Councils.
Project officers Ian Panton
and John Hickey were employed to find ways of
improving water quality with farmers, landowners
and fishermen in the Axminster, Chard, Crewkerne
and Charmouth areas.
This scheme was awarded a grant
of £225,000 to be match funded by farmers
for work to reduce the dangers of manure and soil
loss into the rivers. Examples include slurry
stores, the roofing over of cattle yards, winter
housing and riverbank fencing.
An important part of the project
is the sharing of ideas and experiences at workshops
and demonstrations, and this will be the main
theme of the French farmers visit.
Dairy farmers Jacques Gouyec,
François Cutullic, and Agnès Colomer,
pig farmer René Miossec, Hervé Prima,
who is President of the Aven-Laïta agricultural
committee and also a dairy farmer, together with
technical advisor Josiane Queré, co-ordinator
Miranda Maybank and project assistant Patricia
Isaac will meet Environment Agency staff on Wednesday
31 May and leave on Sunday 4 June.
The farmers will be visiting
and staying on farms throughout the area during
their stay, attending the Royal Bath and West
Show, visiting the Biogas plant AN Digestion at
Holsworthy, Coombe Farms milk factory, a goat
farm and even be challenged to a skittles match.
Welcoming the closer links with
France, project officer Ian Panton, said: ‘The
aim of the agricultural exchange between the Bélon
and the Axe & Char is to identify good practice
within both of the countries and to exchange ideas.
‘Farmers in Devon, Somerset
and Dorset have been tremendously supportive of
this project and really feel that they can make
a difference to the aquatic life in their local
streams and rivers. We are keen to pass our experiences
to our French colleagues and to also gain an understanding
of the differences between the UK and French systems.’
‘It is hoped that further European
funding can be gained to continue this project
beyond 2006, so that the improvements in water
quality can be maintained and these important
relationships can be consolidated.’
‘In September, the English host
farmers will visit Brittany to meet the French
farmers exchange ideas, and be challenged to a
game of boules!’
In the Belon region of France
the quality of the waters is vulnerable to bacteriological
pollution, from both human (sewage treatment)
and agricultural sources (animal waste). The Cycleau
Bélon project works with a broad range
of interests (shellfish farmers, farmers, industry,
associations, and scientists) to identify the
problems and propose workable solutions.
The Cycleau project allowed
dredging to be recently reinitiated in the Bélon
estuary to help improve the circulation of water
and its bacteriological quality and to improve
navigation.
The farmers participating in
the project received marine sand, from this estuary
dredging campaign, to improve the quality of their
soils.
Ends
Note to Editors:
There will be an opportunity to photograph/film
the French farmers when they attend a site visit
at Broadstone Farm, Middle Chinnock, Crewkerne,
Somerset, on Thursday 1 June at 4pm. For directions
and further information contact the Environment
Agency’s regional press office on 01392 442008.
Cycleau funding comes from Europe's
INTERREG programme for inter-regional cooperation.
The purposeof this fund is to bring together communities
from different European regions facing similar
environmental and economic challenges - in order
for them to find simple, adaptable and transferable
solutions to the common problems.
