CAP Reform: Implementation is the key

NFU Cymru President, Ed Bailey believes that yesterday’s political agreement on CAP gives the UK the framework to allow for the implementation of a scheme that can continue to support farmers in producing food to world leading standards.

Bailey has been in Luxembourg for the past three days with farming leaders from across Europe for a final round of lobbying with farm ministers, including our own minister for Natural Resources and Food, Alun Davies. He feels that the agreement reached following intense negotiations between the EU political institutions is a positive move forward from the original CAP proposals published by the commission in October 2011.

“I don’t think that any of us should underestimate the significant changes in agricultural support that lay ahead for us, changes that will impact on almost every farming business in Wales, but I do feel that concerted lobbying by NFU Cymru and other EU farming organisations throughout the reform process and in Luxembourg this week has brought dividends for us in a final agreement that is markedly different from the original proposals.

“This week’s lobbying has secured proposals that allow for safeguards to be put in place to limit the losses for farmers in the move to the new system, alongside measures that allow for a more phased and managed transition period."

But 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."

NFU Cymru President Bailey said the Welsh government needs to build upon the modelling work already completed to determine whether these revisions can be used to help further minimise the redistribution between farming businesses, sectors and regions of Wales in the move across to the new scheme.

“On greening whilst we still disagree with the principle of this element within pillar 1 of the CAP, the final agreement has given greater recognition to countries such as Wales who it is felt have farming systems that are already ‘green by definition’.

"The agreement allows for changes in permanent pasture levels to be monitored at ‘Welsh level’ rather than ‘farm level’, this will be simpler for Welsh Government to implement and will also allow farmers to be able to amend their production systems to respond to market drivers. Similarly, exemptions from other elements of the greening rules for predominantly grassland farms makes greening more manageable for many farming businesses in Wales.”

Mr Bailey was however keen to point out, that a number of other elements within the agreement, some voluntary and some compulsory, will mean that the direct payments regime from 2015 is not simply a case of moving from an historic basis of payment to an area based system.

He continued, “For example, support for young farmers will become a compulsory element of pillar 1 support and there are also voluntary options that countries can introduce such as a small farmers scheme and coupled support. These alongside significant changes to the total CAP budget could have potentially major impacts on the level of support for individual farming business going forward. Of most concern to us is the potential for countries to move additional resource out of pillar 1 and into pillar 2. This on top of all the changes to be made and cuts to be implemented would hit Welsh farmers hard if Welsh Government choose to make use of this flexibility.”

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."