European farm groups fight tying subsidies to green plans
October 06, 2011 | 05:18 PM
In a move that could have implications for the development of the next U.S. farm bill, the presidents of the largest European farm and co-op groups said this week they are resisting efforts to tie European farm subsidies more closely to “green proposals” as part of the next Common Agricultural Policy reform, and say the CAP should help farmers become more productive and get a bigger share of the food dollar, according to a news release from both organizations.
The European Union’s current farm program is scheduled to be revised for the period beginning in 2013. The proposals by Copa, the European farm group that is comparable in size to the American Farm Bureau Federation, and Cogeca, which represents European co-ops much like the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives in the United States, reflect the changing world food availability situation that has moved from overproduction and low prices to near-shortages, high prices and volatility. U.S farm and congressional leaders often compare their policies and expenditures with the CAP.
The European Commission, the EU executive branch, is developing a proposal, but it must be approved by the European Parliament and ultimately by the heads of government of the member states. Among the attendees at a seminar organized Tuesday by the two European groups was Paolo de Castro, the chairman of the European Parliament agriculture committee, the groups said.
“In the past, the main focus of the CAP reforms has been on the way food is produced," Copa President Gerd Sonnleitner said at the seminar.
“Now the upcoming CAP reform must be used to refocus on reinforcing the production role of farmers,” Sonnleitner said. “In view of the increasing challenges, direct payments to farmers must continue in the future. But we are concerned that the commission’s plans, which propose a mandatory ‘greening’ of the CAP making up to 30 percent of farmers’ direct payments dependent upon complying with environmental conditions, will add more costly burdens onto EU farmers, thus threatening their competitivity and economic viability.”
“The commission’s own impact assessments show that ‘greening’ will impose yet further costs on farmers,” Sonnleitner continued.
“It does not make sense to require every single farm stop producing on a certain percentage of their land (ecological set-aside) in the wake of growing world food demand,” he said. “We are consequently calling for measures which will promote green growth. Measures must be economically viable and voluntary for farmers to apply. We support the principle that CAP payments under the first pillar go to active farmers but member States may require some flexibility to ensure this can be achieved effectively. The commission is moving in the right direction concerning the redistribution of direct payments and the move away from historic payments but the need for fair and equitable treatment of all farmers taking into account differences in conditions must be respected.”
Cogeca President Paolo Bruni meanwhile highlighted the need for efficient and flexible measures to manage the market, according to the news release. Bruni said the commission has proposed an emergency fund to deal with volatility issues, but it must be explored further to see if it will provide adequate stability in an increasingly volatile market.
“It is also crucial to strengthen producer organizations’ (POs) position in the food chain to meet the growing world food demand,” Bruni said. “Farmers currently only get a fraction of the retail price. This situation must be improved in the reform.”
Bruni said that reform of the EU fruit and vegetable and dairy regimes has reinforced the role of producer organizations and that this must be done in other sectors. He also said that the commission’s plans for dairy reform should focus on strengthening contractual relations between farmers and processors to enable farmers to get a better price.
“Copa-Cogeca is extremely concerned by the lack of any clear definition of a producer organization in the EU Commissions plans,” Bruni said.
“In addition, EU competition rules need to be adjusted to help producer organisations, such as cooperatives, to grow in size and scale,” he said. “This is particularly important with farmers up against the huge buying power of a handful of supermarkets.”
The European Union’s current farm program is scheduled to be revised for the period beginning in 2013. The proposals by Copa, the European farm group that is comparable in size to the American Farm Bureau Federation, and Cogeca, which represents European co-ops much like the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives in the United States, reflect the changing world food availability situation that has moved from overproduction and low prices to near-shortages, high prices and volatility. U.S farm and congressional leaders often compare their policies and expenditures with the CAP.
The European Commission, the EU executive branch, is developing a proposal, but it must be approved by the European Parliament and ultimately by the heads of government of the member states. Among the attendees at a seminar organized Tuesday by the two European groups was Paolo de Castro, the chairman of the European Parliament agriculture committee, the groups said.
“In the past, the main focus of the CAP reforms has been on the way food is produced," Copa President Gerd Sonnleitner said at the seminar.
“Now the upcoming CAP reform must be used to refocus on reinforcing the production role of farmers,” Sonnleitner said. “In view of the increasing challenges, direct payments to farmers must continue in the future. But we are concerned that the commission’s plans, which propose a mandatory ‘greening’ of the CAP making up to 30 percent of farmers’ direct payments dependent upon complying with environmental conditions, will add more costly burdens onto EU farmers, thus threatening their competitivity and economic viability.”
“The commission’s own impact assessments show that ‘greening’ will impose yet further costs on farmers,” Sonnleitner continued.
“It does not make sense to require every single farm stop producing on a certain percentage of their land (ecological set-aside) in the wake of growing world food demand,” he said. “We are consequently calling for measures which will promote green growth. Measures must be economically viable and voluntary for farmers to apply. We support the principle that CAP payments under the first pillar go to active farmers but member States may require some flexibility to ensure this can be achieved effectively. The commission is moving in the right direction concerning the redistribution of direct payments and the move away from historic payments but the need for fair and equitable treatment of all farmers taking into account differences in conditions must be respected.”
Cogeca President Paolo Bruni meanwhile highlighted the need for efficient and flexible measures to manage the market, according to the news release. Bruni said the commission has proposed an emergency fund to deal with volatility issues, but it must be explored further to see if it will provide adequate stability in an increasingly volatile market.
“It is also crucial to strengthen producer organizations’ (POs) position in the food chain to meet the growing world food demand,” Bruni said. “Farmers currently only get a fraction of the retail price. This situation must be improved in the reform.”
Bruni said that reform of the EU fruit and vegetable and dairy regimes has reinforced the role of producer organizations and that this must be done in other sectors. He also said that the commission’s plans for dairy reform should focus on strengthening contractual relations between farmers and processors to enable farmers to get a better price.
“Copa-Cogeca is extremely concerned by the lack of any clear definition of a producer organization in the EU Commissions plans,” Bruni said.
“In addition, EU competition rules need to be adjusted to help producer organisations, such as cooperatives, to grow in size and scale,” he said. “This is particularly important with farmers up against the huge buying power of a handful of supermarkets.”
