Environmental CAP focus feared

EU farmers’ leader Padraig Walshe warned this week that EU Commission plans to bring a much greater environmental focus into the CAP, and its trade talks with Latin American countries, could devastate agriculture.

He also called for direct payments to farmers to continue after 2013.

In a joint statement with Mr Walshe, EU farm co-ops leader Paolo Bruni said the food chain does not work properly. “The existing lack of transparency and the problems with late payments, market abuses and distortions of competition in the food supply chain cannot be accepted.” He called for better prices for farmers and their co-ops, and rule changes to enable co-ops and producer organisations to expand, giving them more power in the food supply chain.

Mr Walshe said, “We had a crisis in farm incomes in 2009. This year we have experienced once again increased volatility and failures in international trade. Do we really have to wait for a complete collapse of the market for you to take notice?”