Moves to limit support payments to landowners

The Westminster Government has said it wants to limit support payments to large landowners.

Now this has been raised again in Brussels as post-2020 CAP reform discussions accelerate.

According to figures from the EU around 11 billion euro in direct payments was shared across the majority of farmers, while 30 billion euro went to fewer than a million farmers.

Numerically the 11 billion euro was shared between 5.8 million farmers.

This translates into 80% of the funds going to around 20% of farmers – a concept in economics known as the Pareto principle.

The majority of farmers had an average CAP payment of around 23,000 euro while the top 1,500 ‘earners’ received more that 500,000 euro each.

These figures confirm a trend that has been there for a long time.

As in the UK it is now being seen to be unacceptable to the tax-paying public, however attempts in the past to change the distribution model have met with limited success.

The European Commission has confirmed that it will publish proposals by the end of the year to increase protein production in the EU.

This is linked to a long-term initiative to reduce reliance on imported soya.

The justification for this is partly EU self-reliance, but mainly it is a response to criticism that countries like Brazil have lower environmental standards.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to secure non-gm soya supplies and the EU is less than 25% self-sufficient, making this a long term plan. The commission has launched an industry consultation, and will hold a series of workshops on ideas to achieve an increase in production, including the use of new crops, but not GM.

Its aim is to produce a plan by the end of the year. With Brexit just over a year away, this raises questions about what the UK will do to match decisions in the EU, or whether it will continue to rely on South American imports.

The battle over glyphosate may be officially over, at least for five years until the licence is up for review, but a number of member states are pressing for a change of stance by Brussels.

Six member states have written to the commission asking it to make clear that its aim is an eventual ban on the product. They want the commission to set out a road map to remove glyphosate from EU agriculture.

This call comes from France, Belgium, Greece, Luxembourg, Malta and Slovenia, which means it lacks the political clout to get very far.

On that basis it is likely to be rejected by the commission, but it does confirm that opposition to glyphosate is on hold, rather than eliminated.

Meanwhile the EU ombudsman has rejected a claim that the commission did not take full notice of some data on glyphosate.

This was because the complaint related to claims made after the consultation had been completed.

Opposition to glyphosate is on hold, rather than eliminated

There is a long-term initiative to reduce reliance on imported soya.