Flat rate ewe premium slammed by farmers
Flat rate ewe premium slammed by farmers
COMMISSION plans for a flat rate k21 (£13) a head ewe premium from next year have been universally condemned by farm leaders in the main EU sheep-producing countries.
Contained in new Brussels proposals out this week, the premium is designed to make the sheep regime simpler and more market-oriented.
"Replacing the existing deficiency payment with this known fixed amount will allow forward planning and simplify farm management," said a commission statement. "It will enable producers to respond more readily to market signals."
The k21 a head premium is the average amount paid between 1993 and 2000, explained a senior commission official, though there had been some "rounding up". Milk sheep producers in southern member states will get 80% of this, while the LFA supplement will be fixed at k7 (£4.30) a head.
If agreed by farm ministers, the new scheme will be "budgetary neutral", costing an estimated k1.825bn (£1.1bn) a year. "That is within the k1.91bn ceiling set under Agenda 2000, so there is a bit of slack if ministers decide to pay more," said the source.
Sheep farmers will be paid in one lump sum, instead of the current system of two advances and a balancing payment, with the money likely to go out in November each year. Quotas will remain, though national ceilings will also be specified.
But sheep producers are far from happy. Locking into the seven-year average takes no account of inflation. It also enshrines the "stabiliser", which cut support price by 7% at the time of the 1992 reforms.
"France has lost over 1m sheep in the past 10 years based on this average payment," said Bertron Bouffartigue of the French Federation of Sheep Producers. "We now have just 6m ewes and 50,000 breeders. The new budget should be at least k2.5bn if we are to improve revenues."
John Deegan of the Irish Cattle Traders and Stock Owners Association was equally incensed. "This is derisory," he said. "What is worse is that this will apply even when lamb prices are low." *