As the debate about the future of the Common Agricultural Policy post-2013 gathers momentum, questions are being raised about what exactly is the role of the single farm payment.
The issue cropped up time and again at a "workshop" organised by the European parliament's agriculture committee in Brussels on Tuesday (10 November).
According to CLA policy director and self-confessed "common agricultural policy wonk" Allan Buckwell, the SFP has many functions. These include income support, compensation for past price cuts, payments for meeting the EU's higher standards, reward for maintaining the environment and a means of improving food security.
All of these apply to some extent. What is not so clear is the relative importance attached to each as the SFP matures as a policy instrument and EU policymakers look forward to the post-2013 era.
Depending on what they perceive as the most important role of the SFP will determine how the CAP is restructured and funds re-targeted. But at this early stage, one or two things already seem clear...
First, there is certain to be some redistribution of payments, be it within a member state, or even between member states. In particular, policymakers will want to move away from a system based on historic receipts to one that is more relevant to the precise aims of the CAP.
Second, farmers will have to deliver more in the way of public goods in order to secure their future SFPs. Current cross-compliance rules are often criticised for going no further than what is already a statutory minimum standard.
Third, current levels of SFP are likely to be reduced, be it through extra modulation, Article 68-type measures or simple, across-the-board budgetary cuts
None of this will be easy to achieve, given the plethora of vested interests. For evidence of the problems of moving away from historic payments, look no further than DEFRA's dynamic hybrid model.
But perhaps the greatest threat is the likelihood that SFPs will be cut, with more money channelled into initiatives to boost habitants, improve rural services, protect water courses and combat climate change.
Worthy as these objectives are, there is no getting away from the fact that, for the vast majority of European farmers, the SFP is the lifeline that keeps their businesses afloat.
That is made clear by the recent figures from HSBC's Forward Planning publication, which shows that most British farmers will fail to cover their costs in 2010 from sales of their produce to the marketplace.
As head of agriculture Pat Tomlinson says, SFPs may be decoupled from production, but profitability is far from decoupled from the SFP. Policymakers need to bear this in mind.
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This is a very very good article. keep us all informed of the latest rumors about single farm payments post 2013.