European leaders defend CAP support

On his first visit to Scotland, Mr Ciolos – who will oversee key reforms to the CAP between now and 2013 – said it was vital the public understood why farmers received money under the scheme.

Particularly on agri-environment payments, he said the public needed to understand better the work farmers were doing if they were going to justify the payments.

Speaking at a briefing alongside rural affairs Minister Richard Lochhead and chairman of the EU Agriculture Committee Paolo De Castro, he said: “The public understands that farmers produce food and this is their main role. But there are lots of things farmers are doing which are not remunerated in the price of food.

“It is important that society realises this is not social support but it is paying farmers for an activity not paid for by the market.”

He said policy makers and farmers had to create the link in the public’s mind between food production and environmental goods if they are to win support from consumers.

Mr De Castro agreed, and warned the CAP budget was constantly under threat within the EU and it was vital MEPs were able to justify the spending to the various financial committees in the EU.

“The situation is not easy,” he said. “Everybody asks the EU to do more but no member state wants to put more money in.

“So if we want to do more with no money everybody starts to look at the CAP to take money away from. So we have to show that this is an important policy otherwise we will lose out.

“Now is the time to show that this is a legitimate policy because we are in the right and we have to show that.”

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