Be more competitive, farmers told

EUROPEAN farming must become even more competitive so that it can hold its head high in a globalised world, Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel declared in Florence, Italy, yesterday.

She said it must be more sustainable to meet public expectations, while rural areas must develop their environmental, social and economic potential better.

Farmers and other rural businesses must be well placed to respond to new challenges and the next step in achieving this is the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Health Check, for which the European Commission will make legal proposals on May 20.

The Health Check must make the single payment scheme work better, the benefits which have become clear for the majority of farmers.

They have taken back production decisions from Brussels, and for the most part decoupling has not led to major changes in the overall structure of European production.

Ms Fischer Boel said: “We must be determined about improving the system, but not be dogmatic.”

Regarding market instruments in CAP, she said these must provide the right level of support, acting as a safety net, not a comfortable chair.

“They must not hold farmers back from responding energetically to booming global demand. This is why, for example, we must plan our route to the end of the milk quota system in 2015,” she said.