CAP reform deal not yet sewn up

This week’s Farm Council meeting highlighted more of the divisions that remain on the CAP reform process than many observers, not least the EU Farm Commissioner and Irish Presidency, would have liked, reports Agra Europe. This meeting was significant in that it was the last opportunity for an agreement between EU agriculture ministers prior to what many are billing as the ‘final showdown’ talks at the Luxembourg Farm Council on June 24-25.

The three big points of discussion were over the nature and scope of the new support systems for ‘young’ and ‘small’ farmers under the next CAP, as well as whether or not an ‘active farmer’ provision – aimed at excluding ‘undeserving’ recipients from receiving subsidies through an EU-wide ‘negative’ list that countries could add to – should be mandatory across member states.

The issue of whether young farmers should be given a 'leg up' has proved controversial for the UK. As for undeserving recipients, subsidy transfer arrangements represent a second best solution offering reallocation in an inherently unsatisfactory system in my view. Interestingly, despite the Presidency testing the water for potential compromise agreements on these issues, many governments were steadfast in their opposition in making the first two schemes compulsory to top-up direct payments, while there was also much disagreement over the third provision.

Simon Coveney, the Irish agriculture minister chairing the member state government talks, came away from the Council stating that he was 'reasonably positive' that compromises on the three proposals can be reached with MEPs and the Commission by the end of next month. Commissioner Dacian Ciolos was also confident of a political agreement but at the same time he reiterated his frustration at the reluctance of several ministers to accept a 'common' and compulsory approach for the targeted schemes.

UK farm minister Owen Paterson, who is engaged in his own battle to defend the Defra budget, also said he was optimistic of a deal this week, but there have been whispers that an agreement may not be as cut and dry as is hoped, with measures such as ‘greening’ likely to be major stumbling blocks. Scottish Liberal Democrat MEP George Lyon even suggested that the Irish Presidency may be given additional time to try and get a deal in July.

Although Lithuania will have taken over the EU Presidency for the first time in their history by that time of year, the view is that the Irish will be best-placed to secure an actual CAP reform agreement due to being relatively more experienced in such matters.

Hoovering up farmland

Sir James Dyson has bought up thousands of acres of Lincolnshire farmland, reports Farmers Weekly. He is believed to have paid some £150m for more than 6,800 ha./17,000 acres through a new company Beeswax Farming (Rainbow) Ltd. He has purchased much of the Norton estate which was destined to be Britain's largest dairy farm until the plan was defeated by animal welfare activists, backed up by objections from the Environment Agency.

There's nothing new about wealthy investors or even institutions buying up farmland, indeed the institutitional involvement has been greater in the past and led to a report. One of the advantages of owning farmland is that it does not incur inheritance tax. Some critics argue that farm land values are bumped up, making it difficult for 'genuine' farmers to expand or enter the market. Average English farmland values reached £22,500/ha (£9,100/acre) in the last three months of 2012. If you borrowed to buy at those sort of prices, you could not fund the lending out of farming.

There has been a fierce debate in Farmers Weekly about whether young farmers should be given a hand up the farming ladder if they are not going to inherit a farm. The general view seems to be against special subsidies, and indeed one would not want to create a new category of subsidy. Many would-be farmers have to settle for being a farm manager.

One argument in favour of some form of subsidy is the ageing farm population, which applies across Europe. However, the figures may be somewhat misleading as the nominal head of the farm may be semi-retired.

One challenge has been the reducing number of county council farms available for rent. For many farmers these relatively small farms served as the first, but sometimes the last, step on the road. Like many farms, they survived by the farmer's partner working. However, many county councils have been selling off these farms to realise the capital.

Farming is hard work and demands a wide range of skills. The returns are often little better, or even worse, than the minimum wage per hour worked (although not on arable farms in Lincolnshire). Of my two nephews from a Welsh hill farm, one has moved to Manchester where he pursues an urban lifestyle. The other works the farm with his father and evidently enjoys his way of life.

Could European young farmers become extinct?

The number of young farmers in Europe today is falling fast. We have reached a point where only 6 per cent of farmers across the European Union are under the age of 35. The situation is even worse in members states like Italy, Portugal and the United Kingdom, where the young represent less than 3 per cent of the entire farming community. This state of affairs is reaching breaking point, with five times as many farmers over the age of 65 than there are farmers under the age of 35 – this cannot continue for long.

With so little influx of youth into European agriculture, the sector could soon lose much of its competitiveness on a global market. Young farmers' representatives consider that nothing less than future food security and the vitality of rural areas across Europe is at risk. If nothing is done about the significant lack of generational renewal in the sector, European food production will be hit particularly hard as many elderly farmers retire. This is an aspect of food security that has been very much neglected.

With the Common Agricultural Policy currently being reformed for 2014-2020, there is a window of opportunity to counteract these developments and to prioritise this key age group in EU agricultural policy. If action isn’t taken now, European agriculture will not be able to face present and future challenges such as increased environmental protection, job creation, biodiversity conservation and above all, food security.

In order to raise awareness of this issue among the general public and policymakers alike, CEJA – the European Council of Young Farmers – has recently launched a campaign entitled “Future Food Farmers” which I am happy to endorse. With the support of European Commissioners, MEPs and key stakeholders in the sector, CEJA aims to reverse the negative demographic trend that is common to all Member States of the European Union and help young farmers to secure the future of European agriculture.

Everyone can express their support for the cause by taking the campaign’s online pledge, and join public figures like the President of the EESC Staffan Nilsson, Commissioners Dacian Cioloş, Janusz Lewandowski and Janez Potočnik, as well as MEPs Paolo De Castro, Luis Manuel Capoulas Santos and George Lyon in their efforts to keep EU agriculture alive. The online pledge is here: Pledge

The campaign video can be viewed here: Young farmers