More than 250,000 people and over 600 organisations have sent the European Union a strong message - the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is in need of a fundamental rethink.
In the largest ever public consultation on agricultural policy, thousands of people, businesses and organisations across the EU have demanded a better food and farming system.
On Thursday (11 May) Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan was presented with the logos of 600 organisations that called for a radical reform of the CAP.
Commissioner Hogan was handed the logos before a high-level conference on the future of the CAP in Brussels.
'Major inefficiencies'
BirdLife, a European-wide organisation which is one of many organisations to sign the message, said CAP has 'major inefficiencies'.
The organisation said in a statement: “The available evidence analysed so far points to major inefficiencies resulting from the lack of a coherent set of objectives, ineffective and partly conflicting instruments, and poor uptake of knowledge.
“We also identified very poor relevance of the objectives themselves, and that both farmers and the public are unsatisfied with the CAP and its outcomes.
“While the design and implementation of CAP instruments fails to meet current sustainability challenges, the good news is that the knowledge and tools needed to move towards a better and smarter CAP are available. What’s needed now is the political will to use them.”
Underlining the need for a strong CAP and budget with modern tools to help farmers face the 'increasing challenges' facing them, EU agricultural co-operative Copa and Cogeca highlighted improved infrastructures and broadband access in rural areas to enable farmers to profit from the digital revolution and smart farming.
“Investments need to be in place to help their businesses perform,” Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen said.
'Step up to the plate'
During his keynote speech, Commissioner Phil Hogan admitted that the CAP had flaws and that the EU needed to do much more.
“We must always strive to do more, and the CAP needs to step up to the plate and help to deliver on our ambitious international agreements, such as the SDGs and the Paris agreement on climate change,” he said.
The European Commission is expected to present the outcomes of the Consultation during a conference on 7 July 2017. The EU's new Common Agricultural Policy should be implemented in all Member States by 2021.
The programme is the most expensive scheme in the EU - accounting for more than 40% of its annual budget - and one of the most controversial.
Life after CAP
The CAP has received numerous criticisms in the past. A report released this month said the current CAP framework set up by the European Commission has 'significant design weaknesses'.
However, a report looking into the UK's post-Brexit farming policies said that the agriculture and food sectors face 'enormous challenges' after leaving the EU and subsequently CAP.
“Life after the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy will not be easy for the many UK farmers who rely on its financial support,” the House of Lords report said.
“But leaving the EU is also an opportunity for the UK, and its constituent nations and regions, to move away from the EU’s ‘one-size-fits-all’ policies on farming and food. We will be able to really think about what we want to do with agriculture, food and the environment.”
