The prospect of a two-year transition period for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) “must be backed” by a commitment to keep funding for the CAP at its current level during that period, according to one farm organisation.
Pat McCormack, the president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA), was responding to a decision last week by the European Parliament Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development to back plans to extend the CAP for a two-year period, due to Covid-19.
McCormack said the transition was “absolutely essential” due to the “uncertain time-frame for the conclusion of the overall EU budget; the finer details of the CAP reform; Brexit; and now the Covid-19 pandemic”.
Given the huge and unprecedented uncertainties facing farmers at this time, particularly in relation to Covid-19 and farm incomes, there is a clear onus on our politicians at national and EU level to ensure that an appropriate transition agreement is in place.
The ICMSA president said that the transition period needed to allow the funding of farm schemes to continue for 2021 and 2022 until the new CAP has been put in place.
“Such a transitional agreement will require the budget to be maintained at current levels for the period and the provision of national funding for Pillar II schemes over the transition, ensuring that all schemes remain open and fully funded,” he argued.
McCormack noted: “Farm schemes are a very significant part of farm income across all sectors and while there is presently a level of certainty regarding the BPS [Basic Payment Scheme] / Greening payment during the transition period, there is no such certainty around schemes such as GLAS [Green, Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme], TAMS [Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme] and ANC [Areas of Natural Constraint].
Those schemes are not only important from a farmer perspective, but they’re also positive for the wider rural economy and environmental protection.
“These schemes are all due to come to a conclusion at the end of 2020 and the incoming government must commit to their continuation during the transition period – whether that’s one or more years – and so provide a level of certainty to farmers on their income and on the important environmental component,” he stressed.