CAP reform - Farming changes are welcome

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney was pleased with the fruits of the Irish team of negotiators in concluding the agreement on the Common Agricultural Policy. He enthusiastically welcomed the outcome of the tortuous negotiations which concluded yesterday.

A slowdown in farming and food production would have dealt a further serious blow to our struggling economy. Farmers had to cope with the recent fodder crisis on top of the uncertainty of the CAP reform.

The agri-food sector has been one of the more positive areas for economic investment during the current recession. There has, for instance, been a distinct growth in investment in agriculture, with a 46% rise in the number of new tractors registered in the past two years. This has been a potent expression of confidence.

While the outcome of the CAP negotiations may not be all that this country would have desired, there is no doubt it is a better deal than what might have been expected, especially at the outset of the negotiations. While Gabriel Gilmartin, the president of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association, welcomed the agreement, others have reservations.

John Comer, president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, has objections to some aspects of the agreement. Nevertheless, he said it represented an improvement on the initial “disastrous” proposals, and added that it has the merit of providing a degree of certainty for farmers. All farmers were never going to be happy with the outcome. The CAP was under tremendous pressure, because it has to cover all 27 states of the EU, and many of the new states have much greater agricultural needs than this country.

Mr Coveney and his colleagues can take satisfaction from their achievement in ensuring that Ireland will be getting almost as much under the renegotiated CAP. This is a real triumph in itself. But the overall money will be distributed somewhat differently.

Farmers with existing high-level entitlements will see those reduce over time, while those with low-value entitlements should see a steady increase begin after 2015. Although this form of redistribution will inevitably be a contentious issue among some of the bigger and more affluent farmers, it was relatively uncontentious at the final stages of the negotiations.

In the past some payments were paid by hectare, which meant some owners of land were paid while those who actually worked the land lost out. The change in this system should be warmly welcomed, and Mr Coveney and his team ought to be congratulated.