EU under fire for proposed shift in farming support
While plans unveiled this week for a scheme to balance food production, climate change goals and environmental measures in Scotland met with broad approval, EU proposals for a shift in farm support measures on the continent continued to drawcri ticism from both farmers and conservation groups.
Under proposals taken for ward last week for the EU’S CAP at a meeting of EU Council farm ministers, 20 per cent of farm payments would be ring-fenced to the new green schemes – but if producers failed to engage with the measures, other support streams would suffer additional reductions, effectively making the ecoschemes mandatory.
But while the move was criticised as “challenging” and potentially “hugely disappointing” by EU farming bodies, the European Parliament and environmental groups have criticised it for “watering down” the original proposals to set the green measures at 30 per cent.
Under the CAP proposals currently on the table, the new eco schemes would include measures such as precision farming, agro-forestry and organic farming - but member states would be given the flexibility to design their own instruments on the basis of their needs.
Environmental groups, however, condemned the proposals as “greenwashing”, claiming they would fail to reduce agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions while doing little to stem biodiversity loss - farming groups argued this was not the case.
The EU’S umbrella group of farming unions, Copa/cogeca, said that current cross-compliance rules would be replaced by enhanced “conditionality” measures which every farmer would need to implement to get direct support.
It also stated that the European Parliament was also pushing for member states to encourage farmers to dedicate 10 per cent of arable land to “non-productive landscape elements” which benefited biodiversity, with only half of this target eligible for financial support.
“How can anyone who has real in-the-field experience say that this is nothing?” asked Copa/cogeca in a statement.
*Meanwhile in Scotland, the proposals outlined in the Suckler Beef Climate Scheme( SB CS) report which contained a possible blueprint for balancing climate change measures with sustainable food production met with broad approval from the farming industry.
NFU Scotland vice president Andrew Mccornick said the report had clearly recognised the necessity to marry climate change aspirations with viability of Scottish agricultural businesses.
“Emissions reductions, across all sectors of Scottish agriculture, can and should be viewed as an opportunity rather than as an extra cost to the business,” he said.
“NFU Scotland welcomes the proposed structure of the SBCS, with its foundations of carbon audits, herd management, soil health and nutrient and grassland management, as well as support for management and capital to enhance business performance while reducing emissions.
“We would encourage the Scottish Government to act with urgency in developing, piloting and delivering these measures for every sector, to enable the whole of Scottish agriculture to play its part in reducing emissions within a more sustainable food supply chain,” said Mccornick.