By unlocking the export potential China offers the pig industry, not to mention the red meat sector as a whole, we could gain entry into a marketplace which comprises a fifth of the world’s population.Scots and Westminster still poles apart on CAP
THE divide between the Scottish and Westminster positions on CAP appeared as wide as ever as the NFU Scotland AGM closed.
On Tuesday (February 15), Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead said he was ‘deeply disappointed’ by the coalition Government’s position and challenged Defra to allow him into back-room EU negotiations on CAP.
On Monday, Defra Agriculture Minister Jim Paice had sought to reassure delegates he wanted to do what was right for the whole of the UK. Taking a softer tone than
Defra Secretary Caroline Spelman had in the past, he said a long-term move away from direct subsidy was inevitable but not imminent: “We know we cannot abandon the single farm payment in this round.”
However, he said: “I have believed for a long time the day will come when farming operates without any form of direct market support. I don’t know when, but it will.”
Readying farmers for this transition was the reason Defra was arguing for a reduction in CAP budget and a shift in resources from Pillar 1 to Pillar 2.
Mr Lochhead said although he respected Jim Paice for coming to Scotland to set out Defra’s position, he ‘fundamentally disagreed’.
He said Pillar 1 could be improved, citing the EU’s much publicised idea of ‘greening’ the CAP or Brian Pack’s suggestion of top-up payments as ways it could be made palatable to taxpayers.
He also said the danger of moving funds from Pillar 1 to Pillar 2 was that domestic budgets were being slashed, compounded by Scotland and the UK’s historically low EU budget allocations.
“Let’s be clear, Defra’s illogical and flawed assumptions are a recipe for disaster,” he said.
Furthermore, he branded Mr Paice’s claim that Defra has strong allies in Europe in the form of the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Czech Republic and Germany as ‘wishful thinking.’ “But,” he said, “Scotland does have strong allies and we can exploit that.
“During Mr Paice’s often helpful contribution yesterday, he assured us the UK Government would reflect the diverse interests across these islands. In that case, I see no reason why the devolved nations should be excluded from agriculture negotiations,” he said.
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Readers' comments (2)
Paul Temple | 17 February 2011 8:06 pm
It is perfectly right that Jim Paice negotiates for the whole of the UK, we are lucky to have someone who understands agriculture and UK farming. What should be farmings objective is to reverse the ridiculous situation of having 4 seperate SFP systems in the UK. We should focus on returning rapidly to one system and then the word 'common' in CAP, would begin to mean something at least in the UK.
English farmers were told at the last reform that the system of area based would be picked up by the others at the end. This does not seem to be the case as the regions argue for a period of transition - why? They have had years to contemplate and work out the way forward. Otherwise we risk seeing some sectors better off in regions through differing support within our own country.
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Tara | 26 March 2012 6:23 pm
PDRTJS_settings_3472391_comm_2 = {"id" : "3472391","unique_id" : "wp-comment-2","title" : "It+isn%27t+often+that+you+come+across+a+article+like+this+one.+I+be+certain+to+check+back+in+to+see+what%27s+new.++Our+gratitude+for+taking+the+initiative+to+write+that+article....","item_id" : "_comm_2","permalink" : "http%3A%2F%2Fhealthytomato.co.uk%2Fblog%2F%3Fpage_id%3D2%23comment-2"}It isn't often that you come across a ilracte like this one. I be certain to check back in to see what's new. Our gratitude for taking the initiative to write that ilracte.
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