Ireland to bear brunt of reforms, says Walsh
If direct payments are decoupled as proposed, and the link with production broken, economic logic requires that a farmer will scale back or even cease production, he said.
Beef and sheep production is expected to fall more steeply in Ireland than in the EU as a whole. This would damage employment and economic activity up-stream and down-stream of agriculture. Rural towns and villages would suffer.
Referring to predicted improvement in the EU meat market after decoupling, Minister Walsh said it is certain that some of the gap created in the market would be filled by non-EU countries, taking advantage of the upcoming world trade agreement.
He said the CAP proposals are unnecessary, and he will continue to oppose them. He said they would significantly reduce production in disadvantaged areas, thereby running counter to a clause in the European model of agriculture, which states, “To keep alive the fabric of the countryside throughout Europe, multifunctional agriculture has to be spread throughout Europe including regions facing particular difficulties”.
However, Minister Walsh signalled support for CAP proposals to assist farmers in quality assurance and certification schemes and he said the proposed cross compliance principle is a good one.
In relation to modulation, he said he will seek a higher threshold level than the €5,000 above which it is proposed to reduce direct payments to farmers by up to 19%. He said the modulation proposal is inequitable, with some sectors not affected at all, but beef and sheep affected most severely.
He said it is difficult to justify the proposed cut in grain intervention prices. In the case of milk, he wants the existing Agenda 2000 Agreement to be absorbed before proceeding further.
