IFA says destruction of Single Farm Payment will cost thousands of jobs

THOUSANDS of jobs will be lost and agricultural output reduced by 30% if the EU Commission implements the destruction of the current Single Farm Payment system as proposed in a leaked document on CAP reform, said IFA president John Bryan.

Mr Bryan described the proposed CAP post-2013 measures as “a senseless drive to impose a flat-rate payment which will decimate agricultural production by up to 30%, resulting in a collapse in economic output of €1.25bn per annum and thousands of job losses”.

Mr Bryan said Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney must reject outright these proposals as they would inflict damage on farming, agricultural production, the food sector, jobs and economic recovery. He also said the proposals in their current format are so damaging they would strangle the Food Harvest 2020 plans for much of the sector.