COPA-COGECA calls for alternative CAP greening
COPA-COGECA has criticised the current “greening” proposals for CAP reform and produced a list of six alternative measures it is lobbying the EU Commission to adopt.
The EU farmers’ organisation believes the commission’s current greening proposals – 7% environmental focus areas (EFAs), a freeze in permanent grassland and the three-crop rule – will restrict food production.
Instead, farmers must be given a choice of an extended list of greening measures post CAP-2013 that reflect the versatile and diverse nature of European agriculture.
The six alternative greening measures will allow farmers more flexibility to make choices based on their own farm situation, COPA-COGECA said.
Under the plans, it is suggesting that farmers must choose at least two to fulfil their greening requirement under the first pillar of the CAP.
The list includes: crop diversification (of rotated crops), a certification scheme (food), permanent grasses, replacement of EFAs by uncultivated land de facto, break crops, protein crops.
Pekka Pesonen, secretary general of COPA-COGECA, said alternative forms of greening measures must be taken under the reform of the CAP to avoid a serious impact on farm productivity.
“This scheme would give farmers variety so that it’s not monocultural all round. They can adapt to their conditions,” said Mr Pesonen.
“Instead of asking farmers to fulfill all three greening measures all across the EU, we feel this would work better.
“Let’s face it, it’s common sense that something that works well in Scotland wouldn’t work all that well in Sicily.”
Crop diversification
Using the example of his own country, Mr Pesonen said the commission’s proposal on crop diversification, requiring farmers to grow at least three different crops on farms above 3ha, was too rigid.
“In my native Finland, you have areas where you have grass, grass, grass or grass, barley, grass. So how do you rotate three crops?”
And Mr Pesonen branded the commission’s permanent grassland proposal “a permanent solution, but not one at all”.
COPA-COGECA believes the EU’s current proposals for the greening element of the CAP will undermine farmers’ ability to increase production, lead to higher costs, higher food prices and more dependence on imports.
The organisation is not against farmers being asked to deliver environmentally linked services, but believes food security and stability must be ensured in an increasingly unstable world.
Pressure on farmers
However, cuts in agricultural expenditure in public resources, a lower CAP budget, a more liberalised market with pressures from abroad, and more stringent regulatory demands were piling on the pressure for farmers.
“Let’s face it, it’s common sense that something that works well in Scotland wouldn’t work all that well in Sicily.”
Pekka Pesonen
“This one-size-fits-all greening policy is really a big threat,” added Mr Pesonen.
“It would be hugely demotivating. It would increase costs and in the end not deliver the environment benefits we are asking for, ourselves too.
“We would have to hire another 2,000 civil servants (across Europe) in order to control the farmers. I don’t agree.
“We have to make the farmers deliver. There are 13 million farmers in the EU. You cannot replace their expertise.
“However, it’s not in the interest of the farmer to have a lot of biodiversity.”
The EU Commission’s proposal post CAP 2014 suggests that 30% of direct payments to farmers will be contingent on greening requirements being met.
Budget agreement
Commission agriculture spokesman Roger Waite said finance ministers and heads of government were hoping to reach an agreement on the CAP budget from 2014-20 in November.
“If we can get a deal on the budget by the end of this year that gives us a really good chance of finalising the four main regulations for CAP reform in the first half of next year,” said Mr Waite.
“If we get a deal in November or December on the budget, we can probably do something in March or April under the Irish presidency for CAP reform, which would mean we get a political agreement.
“For greening, in council there will be an agreement on the three main concepts and a broad agreement on equivalence.
“If certain agri-environmental measures provide the same benefits, we can look at an equivalence system. For example, if a crop rotation system is certified as equivalent to the crop diversity requirement in greening.
“The whole idea is that the big political issues and the basic structure is agreed by ministers in Brussels, hopefully by March next year and other additional details come later.
“It is on the basis of those that member states decide how they implement their own policies and exactly how much flexibility they take.”
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