CAP expert warns of payment chaos

Single farm payments will be a nightmare for the Department of Agriculture in December, because of delays at EU level in deciding changes in the 2013 payments, a CAP expert has warned.

This week, the European Commission confirmed that member states can pay 50% of payments from Oct 16, rather than Dec 1.

However, paying agencies such as the department will be unable to accurately determine the payments to make in December until the very last minute, warned Alan Matthews, professor emeritus of European Agricultural Policy at Trinity College, and president of the European Association of Agricultural Economists.