Following the break down of last week’s talk on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), one farm organisation president has argued that 100% convergence “is not just the fairest but the only credible way forward”.
Apart from calling for 100% convergence, Colm O’Donnell, the president of the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers’ Association (INHFA), also called for a front-loaded redistribution of payments through the Complementary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS).
“In relation to the CAP reform I firmly believe in the need to embrace the proposals for ideally 100% convergence; a maximum Pillar I payment of €60,000; and the front-loaded option proposed through CRISS.
“For the vast majority of farmers, these proposals are in their best interests. But even for those that could be negatively impacted, the long-term benefits can outweigh any short-term pain.
“The new CAP will be different to the current CAP programme and will be radically different to how CAP was 20 years ago when the historic payment model was initially developed,” O’Donnell said.
He continued: “Currently, there are farmers coming into the industry that weren’t even born during the reference years of 2000, 2001 and 2002. These farmers had no control over the farming activity and the subsequent payments developed then.
“However, they and many more like them are now being burdened with a historical payment system that doesn’t reflect the significant changes, both at national and at farmgate level.
“It is now time to move on and this CAP reform provides the opportunity to do so.”
The INHFA president argued that, with all farmers expected to comply with the same conditions as outlined in the Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAECs), then it’s “not unreasonable” for farmers to get the same payment rate.
On the ‘Green Architecture’ of the new CAP, O’Donnell said: “We need to recognize how, at national and EU level, tackling climate change and biodiversity loss is now a key priority. This is reflected in the new CAP programme and, whether we like it or not, will be a major factor in any future CAP.
“The challenge for us as farmers is to acknowledge that the landscape has changed. With payments shifting towards a green agenda, we must ensure we get paid enough for what is expected from us.
“Right now there are many that will say we are not being paid enough and there is a strong argument to support that.
“However, before we address that we must first ensure that farmers who carry out a specific action are rewarded equally for the action. Unfortunately, this was not the case under Greening in the current CAP programme,” O’Donnell added.
“Here we see payment rates for the same action varying from €48/ha to €210/ha. The question then becomes how you defend this and the reality is you can’t.
He continued: “After this the next question is, if one farmer can do it for €48 why do we pay another farmer €162 more. At this point, the debate is lost because the perception is that those receiving more than €48/ha are being overpaid.
“It is essential in the upcoming CAP that we get a level paying field and ensure a situation like that can never be used against us.”
O’Donnell concluded: “In achieving this we will be in a position to push on together and get a better deal for all farmers, because without equality and fairness we will never have unity or strength.”