Time has a habit of passing rather quicker than any of us would like.
It seems only yesterday that EU agriculture commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel signed off her CAP "health check", scrapping set-aside and increasing modulation. In fact it is well over a year ago.
Even more alarming, it is now almost seven years since her predecessor Franz Fischler concluded his own CAP reforms, introducing the single farm payment and the "second pillar" of rural development.
On this basis, it's not overstating things to say that the next round of CAP reform is almost upon us.
Even though it will not actually take effect until 2013, the European parliament has already held its own CAP reform "workshop" in November, with MEPs setting out their priorities for the post-2012 era...
And then in December, French agriculture minister Bruno le Maire hosted a special meeting for 22 EU farm ministers in Paris, demanding a strong CAP that will deliver food security and decent incomes for farmers, while protecting the environment.
The EU Commission is not due to issue its own "orientation" report until next autumn. But consultation between all the different departments in Brussels - including farming, environment, trade and budget legislators - will gather pace this spring.
This means that, from a lobbying point of view, it is crucial that UK representatives hit the ground running in the New Year.
The NFU has already started the process, holding regional workshops and launching a major on-line consultation to gauge member opinion and feed it into the decision-making process.
The hope must be that DEFRA has a similar sense of urgency.
Unfortunately, the portents are not good. The UK's "vision" for the CAP - to scrap direct payments and put just limited resources into rural development - is so out of kilter with everyone else in Europe that it is in danger of being ignored altogether.
The risk is that we will end up with a CAP that undermines, rather than supports, the UK's farming interest.
* For more blog postings click here. And why not sign up for regular e-mail alerts.
| Tweet |
|
The CAP reform will have far more effect than any Govt food policy . However inform your colleague that there has been Govt food policy statements since WW2 , such as 'Food from our own resources' in the 1970's which was quickly forgotten by the policies to get rid of the 1980's food mountains .