Farming: Food-focused reformed CAP wins support

Politicians and Scottish farming leaders yesterday expressed support for the latest version of the Common Agricultural Policy, which gained the almost unanimous support of the European Parliament agriculture committee this week.

The latest version has discarded some of the more complex "green" requirements initially suggested by the German MEP Albert Dess, and now has food production at its heart.

NFU Scotland president Nigel Miller said it was encouraging that MEPs had listened to industry. He accepted there would be an environmental linkage to direct support payments in the new policy, but said it was essential that greening was delivered through simple measures that could be delivered on farms without harming productivity and farm competitiveness.

Scottish MEP Alyn Smith thought the report had "worked out pretty well for Scottish farming."