Farmers losing €85m a year in direct payments
AN Aughrim farming expert has claimed farmers are losing €85m a year to non-farming landowners
Speaking following the publication of a study in relation to the leakage of direct payments from active farmers to non-active landowners, chair of the ICMSA Business Committee Shane O’Loughlin said that the data shows that Irish farmers are losing approximately €85m in direct support payments due to higher land rental costs.
Mr O ‘Loughlin said the study highlighted the problems that saw what he said was ‘very substantial’ amounts of direct payments to farmers effectively being diverted to non-farming landowners through inflated land rents.
‘CAP and direct payments were specifically designed to support active farmers farming the land and the conclusion that €85m of that support is being lost to non-farming landowners confirms a major flaw in the direct payment system – actually ICMSA would estimate that €85m is an underestimate. We also think that the CAP Post 2020 regime should be unapologetically designed to suit the active farmer and to ensure that sector can receives as much of his/her direct payment as possible and that it is not simply passed on to non-farmers through higher land rental costs,’ said the Aughrim farmer.
The prominent Wicklow ICMSA man stressed that this is not just an Irish problem, with the study identifying losses in the region of €10bn per annum across the EU but he reiterated that the technical regulations following the final CAP Post 2020 conclusions must address this matter and ensure that the direct payment budget is put in the hands of active producers and not merely diverted to non-farming landowners as is happening under the current regime.
‘With that in mind, the structure of entitlements, the system of trading entitlements and the introduction of a regime to assist farmers who lose rented/leased land and thus possibly direct payment support must be considered’, he said.
‘There has long been talk about targeting direct payments to active farmers but, to date, the system just has not delivered in this regard. We have to be crystal-clear on this: Irish farmers cannot afford to be leaking €85 million in direct payments out of agriculture and over to non-farming landowners.
‘A clear problem has been identified by this report and it’s up to the EU Commission and the Department of Agriculture, Food & Marine to clearly analyse this matter and make the necessary changes to the regime that will eliminate this diversion of direct supports from active farmers to non-active landowners’, he said.