Coveney congratulated for CAP deal

Congratulations flooded in from across Europe for Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney’s work in brokering a partial CAP reform in Brussels yesterday — but the main farm organisations at home were understandably apprehensive about what amounts to a major change in the direction of EU agriculture policy.

The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) said tens of thousands of farms will lose money, and some would be challenged to stay viable.

From 2015, the €1.2bn annual single payment which bankrolls Irish farmers will be divided more evenly, so that every land- owner gets at least 60% of the national per hectare average payment (in Ireland, about €150/ha).

IFA president John Bryan said this redistribution will cost 50,000 of our most productive farmers between 15% and 35% of their overall payment by 2019.

John Comer, president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association, said the new CAP is a negative for most of his members, because payments will be diverted from the most active and productive farmers.

Young farmers welcomed a 25% payment top up, which Macra president Kieran O’Dowd said will be the first direct support available to young farmers since 2008.

Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association president Gabriel Gilmartin, opposed cuts to payments for active farmers with modest payments, but said more severe proposals had been watered down.

He said an originally proposed flat rate payment would have meant cuts of 30% to 50% for many active farmers; now the average cut is 12% plus 2% to fund young farmers, 3% to fund a payments national reserve. There is also a 5% cut due to EU budget reductions, and other cuts will finance a crisis fund for farmers.

Farmers also face recalculation of their payments on a 2014 land base. But this will be linked to what they were paid in 2013, in order to avoid land speculation.

A major change is the “greening” of payments, a public money for environmental public good shift. The impact includes conservation measures on 5% to 7% of crop land, and diversification of at least two crops for farms over 10 hectares.

Irish farmers’ leaders said analysis of all options available under yesterday’s agreement is needed for the key decisions to follow at national level.

The menu of options includes payments linked to up to 8% of specific farm production, a simplified small farmers payment scheme, a redistributive payment for up to the first 30 hectares, transfers between farmer payments, and rural development.