Wednesday, April 16, 2008

If you had an empty sheet of paper ...

It is often observed that if you had an empty sheet of paper, you wouldn't design the Common Agricultural Policy as it is today. Of course, you probably wouldn't create it at all.

Agra Focus has been having a little bit of springtime fun thinking up a new name for the CAP on the lines of 'a rose by any other name.' The two most plausible suggestions to come forward were FARMER (Food, Agriculture and Rural Measures in the European Union) and SAFE (Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Environment). The latter suggestion certainly encompasses the direction in which the CAP should be going.

The agri-humourists were out in force and the old chestnut of Common Rural and Agricultural Policy came up, as did the newer suggestion of Agricultural, Rural and Sustainable Environment policy. Someone obviously worked hard on 'Special Agricultural and Rural Key Offensive for Zestful Yields.'

Perhaps the corny and somewhat flakey character of the CAP was embodied in COmmon Rural Network for Food, a Living Agriculture and Keeping the Environment Sustainable = CORNFLAKES to save you the bother of working it out.

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