Positive changes expected from CAP reform proposals

When the European Commission announces its proposals for reforming the Common Agricultural Policy today there will be a forensic analysis of what it means to farmers.

But, speaking at the ANUGA food fair in Cologne, UK farming minister Jim Paice warned that the bigger battle would come when EU finance ministers met to decide the size of the budget.

He said he did not think the CAP budget could remain untouched with all the financial turmoil in Europe. And with farm commodity prices at record levels, he believed it was a good time to cut subsidies.

While the UK government has previously received little support in Europe for this view, Paice said he believed that recent financial tremors were encouraging more member states to support a reduction in their commitment to the CAP.

He said: “We have a huge opportunity at the present time to start reducing budgets. Farmers do not want to rely on subsidies. They want to get their returns from the marketplace. There has never been a better time to wean farmers off subsidies.”

Paice admitted this attitude would put him at odds with the views of the devolved countries in the UK, but insisted there was only one UK budget and that the UK minister would be sitting at the table in the EU talks.

Elsewhere, George Lyon MEP highlighted the positive proposal to increase member states’ share of the direct payments budget that currently have less than 90 per cent of the EU average, which should see gains for the UK, including Scotland.

He also highlighted changes that individual farmers would face in the move to an area-based entitlement scheme.

He said: “One of the key issues for Scotland’s tenant farmers will be to ensure they are allocated the new area entitlements, and not their landlords. If that issue is not dealt with properly, then the current trickle of land being taken back in hand will turn into a torrent as landlords … claim the new area SFP for themselves.”