We are urgently developing research requirements with other European laboratories to make sure we understand and the disease (Schmallenberg) better.France leads fight to defend farm incomes
FRANCE will fight Europe’s free market supporters to ensure its farmers get a sustainable price for their produce.
Bruno Le Maire, French agriculture Minister, let out a warning shot to any European nations wishing to let the market place decide which farmers can thrive by expressing his desire to maintain market intervention measures and policy designed at supporting French farmers.
France is the largest beneficiary of CAP payments and will be one of the staunchest defenders of farm support as talks to define policy after 2013 progress over the coming months and years.
“We will defend the idea of a market regulation as a precondition for discussions, because we firmly believe in it,” Mr Le Maire said in a recent interview with Reuters.
“The key question is prices,” he added. “I don’t know a single farm producer, whether in milk, grains or fruit and vegetables, who is not faced with this basic difficulty of having a sale price that is below the cost price.”
Mr Le Maire continued: “I think intervention is a useful element, including for grains.”
His comments will have upset those who feel Europe is too protective of its farmers, but they will have won many supporters from French farmers, not to mention farmers in the rest of Europe, including the UK.
Mr Le Maire will also be buoyed by Defra’s decision to soften its stance against direct farm subsidies.
The UK’s ideological stance against direct subsidies had caused some concern to the French.
But speaking in last week’s Farmers Guardian Mr Fitzpatrick signalled Defra’s intention to be more forgiving in its approach to CAP talks in order to influence future policy.
