The notion that convergence will deliver for small and medium sized farmers is “completely wrong”, according to the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA).
Commenting on the matter as part of wider concerns over the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), ICMSA president Pat McCormack claimed that the big gainers under convergence would be people – very often non-farmers – who own or lease substantial areas of land.
“There is a flawed debate and flawed reasoning around convergence,” the president said.
“If people are serious about protecting small and medium sized farmers then the focus needs to move from the payment-per-hectare to the overall payment received by farmers.
“To highlight this, the promoters of the current convergence model need to answer a simple question:
“How is it fair that a person who is receiving a total payment of €10,000 will see their payment cut – in many cases substantially – to fund a person receiving €50,000?
“Because that’s going to be the net effect of the proposed change,” McCormack stressed.
Continuing, he asked:
“In addition, how is it fair that a person leasing their entitlements will see their entitlements increase at the expense of people who are farming?
The anomalies in convergence are “beyond reason”, McCormack said, adding that the eco-schemes in Pillar I are in danger of not being taken up by farmers “due to unreasonable demands”.
“In terms of Pillar II, farmers again appear to face a bureaucratic nightmare and, put bluntly, Pillar II also needs to be re-focused to those farmers producing food and contributing to their local economy,” he said.
“Overall, our worst suspicions that sustainable commercial farming is being undermined by ill-informed and unfair commentary are being borne out.”
As an organisation, the ICMSA says it feels that “unrealistic and ridiculous demands” are being placed on farmers and the current CAP proposals suggested that the government endorsed that policy.
Continuing, the president said:
“It’s time for some realism and this must be based on the maximum level of co-funding from our government.
“We need a convergence model that protects farmers with a low overall payment. We need an eco-scheme that is simple and properly rewards farmers.
“We need a clear definition of a ‘genuine farmer’ that ensures only people genuinely farming get a payment and we need a refocussed Pillar II supporting farmers who produce food sustainably from an economic, social and environmental perspective.
“It’s never too late to do the right thing,” McCormack concluded.