The need to increase food production by 70% in the next 40 years is accepted and understood by governments across the world -- and the NFU is calling for a Common Agricultural Policy that underpins this goal.
Giving evidence to the Efra Select Committee yesterday, President Peter Kendall repeated our concerns that current proposals will undermine and hinder English and Welsh farmers, rather than help them to meet the food production and environmental challenges ahead.
“The next few decades will be a crucial period,” he said.
“There is a growing population to feed, both at home and abroad, and we are seeing increased volatility in our agricultural markets. And we’re contending with globalisation and concerns over our energy security and the need to protect our finite natural resources.
“The EU Commission says it wants smart, sustainable and inclusive growth for European agriculture, but the proposals currently on the table actually move farming in England and Wales in the opposite direction.
“In particular, ideas for ‘greening’ CAP payments need to be given very careful consideration. Greening will have a devastating impact on pig and poultry farmers, for example, who don’t even benefit from the payments. The Commission’s own impact assessment identifies that, faced with increased fodder costs as a result of greening, pig and poultry farmers would see income per worker fall by 25%.
“There is also the very real issue of uncertainty that is currently preventing farmers from renewing their agri-environment scheme agreements. We want to see farmers in agri-environment schemes treated fairly and one way of doing this could be to extend the categories of farmers automatically eligible for the greening aid to those in recognised schemes.
“Each of the greening measures has its own set of perversities. Mixed family livestock farms will have an absolute nightmare if they have to start growing three crops. Taking land out of production just as a tick box exercise also makes no sense whatsoever when everyone acknowledges the food production challenge we are facing.
“How can it be sensible to increase costs on the industry at a time when we need to increase output, increase jobs, increase exports and boost our flagging economy?
“I look to the Efra committee under the chairmanship of Anne McIntosh, MP, to robustly question the Commission’s approach to greening the CAP.
“And we also need some answers closer to home. I have heard Defra ministers repeatedly say they do not want to see English farmers disadvantaged and that they want the greening measures to be meaningful. I am yet to be convinced that this is not code for gold plating or an attempt by Treasury to reduce its spend on agriculture in the UK.”
- Visit our CAP channel here.
- Watch yesterday's evidence session here.
* NFU Deputy President Meurig Raymond will continue the debate on the proposed reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy in Brussels this evening.
Mr Raymond will address a meeting of the Stakeholder Conference on CAP alongside Paolo De Castro, Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development , Marek Sawicki, President-in-office of the Agriculture Council and Dacian Ciolos - Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development.
Mr Raymond will underline the NFU’s position on the current reform proposals of the CAP and repeat concerns that the proposals will undermine and hinder the businesses of English and Welsh farmers rather than help them to meet the food production and environmental challenges that lie ahead. The meeting will run from 6.30pm. To watch the live broadcast click here.
- George Lunn - 24/11/2011
We must see ELS and HLS as part of the greening under any new scheme. This must be sorted out as the highest priority as people like ourselves can not enter into new agreements that may well jeopardize our business.