Minister hopes to gain EU support in CAP reform discussions
A final deal guiding CAP from 2014-20 is likely to be unveiled after the talks.
While opinion is divided on how best to use funds to protect the EU’s autonomy in food security and to promote sustainability, there is a growing belief that the new CAP will allow flexibility for member states to distribute farm payments in a way that supports active farmers.
Mr Coveney’s ‘approximation’ model could be vital to achieving harmony on the issue of regionalisation — the EU’s wish to redistribute some funds towards smaller farmers, but at the cost of viable larger farmers whose output is critical to the EU27’s food autonomy.
Speaking in the Dáil, Mr Coveney said: “We want flexibility to limit the amount a farmer could lose in a redistribution and to achieve this, we have proposed an approximation model, by which all payments could move gradually towards, but not fully to, an average payment. A number of other member states now support the Irish proposal, including Portugal, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Luxembourg, and, in principle, France. This has not happened by accident.”
Mr Coveney joined with the IFA and the Irish Farmers Journal to host a series of talks delivered to farmers in recent months.
Analysis by Teagasc suggests that, under the EU’s per hectare flattening model, 11% of Irish farms would experience losses of more than 50% of their income. Under Mr Coveney’s model, 2% of Irish farms would take such a hit, with around 6% actually enjoying gains.
The IFA supports Mr Coveney’s model. It also remains opposed to tabled proposals on SFP flattening, regionalisation or any man-datory minimum payment.
IFA president John Bryan said: “The Spanish minister was very clear that a minimum payment simply does not work in Spain, for the same reason it does not work for Ireland. It would result in cuts of up to 50% on productive farmers, which would do serious damage to the productive base of Spanish agriculture.”
Meanwhile, Irish organic farmers group IOFGA and its EU umbrella group IFOAM insist that any watering down of the “greening” proposals will destroy efforts to shift EU agriculture towards real change, adding pressure on a shrinking Pillar 2 budget.
The groups say the second funding tranche must be used to promote sustainable use of natural resources.
“In the end, advanced sustainability measures such as organic farming supports, and high-level agri-environment (including climate change mitigation) measures must be the only beneficiaries of environmental spending in Pillar 2,” IOFGA general manager Gillian Westbrook said.
