Radical reform of Common Agriculture Policy
Posted, June 11, 2008 @ 00:00
Radical reform of Common Agriculture Policy
Conservative MEP urges against return to 1950's type agriculture subsidies as CAP "Health Check" is debated in the European Parliament.
Brussels, 11th June 2008 --- Local Conservative MEP and Chairman of the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee, Neil Parish today re-iterated calls for the EU to strengthen its reforms of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) after the European Parliament hosted a public hearing on the "Health Check" of the CAP.
The "Health Check" is the first overhaul of the CAP since the introduction of Single Farm Payment scheme in 2003/4 and assumes even more importance with spiralling food prices around the world. It seeks to update and simplify the scheme, adapting the CAP to new challenges like food security and making it more relevant to the modern world by moving more money away from direct subsidies and into areas such as environmental stewardship.
Mr Parish welcomes many of the proposals but does not feel that the reforms go anywhere near far enough to tackle the challenges that British agriculture faces in the 21st Century. He also fears that attempts to reform the CAP will be hijacked by those countries that wish to see a return to the old, coupled system of payments.
He said:
"At least we are seeing some small scale reform in these proposals but it is nowhere near enough. We need to take the bull by the horns and really tackle the new challenges of how to produce more food on less land and with less pesticides and fertilisers, whilst at the same time ensuring enhanced environmental protection.
"Although the Commission recognises this, I do not think that the message has got through to our colleagues in the rest of Europe. Far too many still see the CAP as an old fashioned market management tool and wish to apply 1950´s techniques to artificially distort the market.
"This approach will not solve the environmental problems we face and it will not help our farmers. The market has given them a sign, the world needs more food and the best way to do it is to free the farmers from red tape and bureaucracy and allow them to make market-based decisions."