Mairead McGuinness Fine Gael MEP

Mairead pictured with Agriculture Commissioner, Dacian Ciolos

In advance of the release of the detailed proposals for reform of the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) tomorrow (Wednesday), Ireland East MEP, Mairead McGuinness, has said it is critical to focus on why the market is failing farmers and how this might be corrected.

The MEP who has been charged with leading the negotiations on direct payments for the largest political group in the Parliament, the EPP, said:

“This will require us to examine unravelling the many layers in the farm and food chain with a view to greater transparency.”

She warned that the challenges facing farmers from income volatility, rising input costs resulting in margin squeeze and productivity slowdown must all be addressed.

And she outlined three points of concern for Ireland as:

- Replacement of the current single farm payment regime with an entirely new scheme on January 1, 2014.

- Definition of an active farmer and

- Proposed greening measures

“Direct payments provide income support to farmers in times of massive price and income volatility. These supports have a very important impact in every part of the EU and ensure that agricultural activity is maintained, especially in disadvantaged regions.

“This week we begin in earnest a detailed assessment of the Commission’s proposals, with a view to ensuring that all of the challenges facing agriculture and food production are addressed.

“In an ideal world farmers would be rewarded for the fruits of all their labours by the marketplace. However, the prices paid to farmers for their produce do not reward them sufficiently for all the input employed, including the much talked about ‘public goods’.

McGuinness stressed that the detailed discussions must run in parallel with the budget negotiations post 2014. “I am concerned that the Commission in its document has warned farmers that they cannot rely on support conditions remaining unchanged because of economic development or the budgetary situation,” she said.

Describing these reforms as the most challenging for the EU, McGuinness said the drive to redistribute payments between member states and between farmers within each member state must be handled sensitively.

“These reforms cannot be reduced to who wins and who loses – be it at member state or farm level, they must be focused on providing the best way forward for the agriculture sector conscious of the importance of food security and the challenge of producing more from less into the future.”

She said that the system of direct payments differs between member states and these differences must be taken into account in the reform process.

“Member states must be given the necessary flexibility to adopt and the timeframe must also be appropriate.

“Legal definitions of what constitutes an active farmer must be carefully scrutinised, as must the impact of proposed greening measures at farm level,” she said.

McGuinness said she is concerned about an over-bureaucratic approach which could remove from farmers the ability to make decisions on what enterprises to run on farm, based on their expert knowledge. “It is not appropriate for the EU to dictate what crops a farmer grows,” she said.