New CAP reform 'will penalise English farmers', says group

A new CAP negotiating position agreed late last night by the Agriculture Council will penalise English farmers and make it harder for them to produce food, the NFU said today.

But Dacian Ciolos, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development said the new agreement 'will lead to far-reaching changes: making direct payments fairer and greener, strengthening the position of farmers within the food production chain and making the CAP more efficient.'

"These decisions represent the EU's strong response to the challenges of food safety, climate change, growth and jobs in rural areas. The CAP will play a key part in achieving the overall objective of promoting smart, sustainable and inclusive growth" he said.

Direct payments are to be distributed in such a way between Member States, between regions and between farmers, putting an end to 'historical references'.

Ahead of a final round of talks due to take – where it is expected there will be a final agreement on future CAP rules – the NFU said the Government is set upon a road which goes against rising public support for British farmers as a result of the horsemeat scandal.


Peter Kendall said “This year we have seen that the British public want to support British farmers and they want to buy British. Horsegate showed the importance of having thriving and sustainable domestic food production. But the Government is set upon a road which will penalise English farmers. Why would any government want to make it harder for its country to produce its own food while governments in the rest of Europe are doing the reverse?

“This round of CAP reform has been disappointing from the outset. Last night, ministers agreed that the future CAP will be less common, less market orientated, more complicated and will deliver nothing in terms of achieving a more level playing field. But for the NFU, the greatest disappointment is that the biggest threats to English farmers lies ahead and that’s how our own Government will seek to implemented the new regime back here at home.

“For almost every element of the new CAP, there will be flexibilities for Defra to select from. I just don’t understand why our Government is so intent on making it harder for British farmers to produce more British food – something consumers have clearly demanded in the wake of the recent horsegate scandal, and even at a time when Governments in the rest of Europe are doing the reverse. Defra Minsters fought hard for and have won powers to damage farming and domestic food production.

“Defra can choose to cut English farmers payments by up to 15 per cent on top of all of the other budget cuts we know are coming. They also have powers to opt out of the standard European rules on “greening” and implement a certification scheme which demands higher environmental standards of our farmers. UK Government is alone in Europe by thinking that doggedly following the free market ideology of cutting payments and ratcheting up environmental standards will help our farmers compete and produce more food.

“The Prime Minister hit the nail on the head when he addressed NFU Conference during his time as the opposition leader. Back then his view was that ‘our government often imposes far more onerous standards on British agriculture than exist elsewhere in the EU’. This can have perverse consequences. Instead of driving standards up, they just drive farmers out of business. Our aim must surely be to take our EU partners with us wherever possible at first so we have a truly level playing field on which British farmers can compete.

“The upshot of last night’s agreement in Council is that the UK Government has failed “to take our EU partners” with us. But they have been granted the powers to go it alone. The question now is whether Mr Cameron’s Government will treat English farmers fairly or continue to subject them to the ‘we know best’ policy imposed on the industry by Margaret Beckett back in 2005.”

The CLA urged Environment Secretary Owen Paterson to rethink his position on Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) modulation after a reform deal was struck in Brussels.


CLA President Harry Cotterell welcomed the agreement between the European Agriculture Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament, saying the time was right for Paterson to reconsider his approach to the implementation of so-called voluntary modulation from Pillar One (direct payment to farmers and land managers) to Pillar Two (rural development schemes).

Cotterell said: "We are pleased that these three institutions have finally brokered a deal on CAP reform. It is clear we have won some valuable concessions for our members and UK farmers when you compare what has been agreed with the initial proposals.

"However, we are still concerned that Mr Paterson will put English farmers at a competitive disadvantage to our Continental neighbours by insisting on moving 15 percent of Pillar One funds into Pillar Two when other European governments will not be doing this."

The CLA President added: "We need to remember, of course, that we will not see the final legal text of the CAP reform deal until late this year, so there may still be some surprises to come. We will continue to lobby in the interests of farmers and land managers until the deal is set in stone."