A new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform on farming will penalise English farmers and make it harder for them to produce food, the National Farmers Union (NFU) has warned.

The agreement, which was struck earlier this week (26 June), gives governments the option to move money away from direct support to fund green measures, paving the way for a greener CAP across Europe.

Member states will be able to transfer up to 15% of direct farm payments to rural development measures with no requirement for ‘Match-Funding’ by the Member State, something which the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) could potentially do.

Owen Paterson, secretary of the department, believes the flexibility of moving funds from direct support under Pillar 1 to rural development measures in Pillar 2 will give farmers in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales reassurance that their governments now had complete freedom to deliver a CAP tailored to their individual needs.

“I think it is good these sorts of decisions are made as locally as possible,” he told Farmers Weekly. “So all four parts of the UK will now have complete control of all four regulations of the CAP - so there will be a completely Scottish CAP, a completely Welsh CAP and obviously (the same) in England.”

Andrew Atkinson, a partner in Strutt and Parker’s Farming Department, feels that this is something that the UK Government is likely to implement in full.
He said: “DEFRA Secretary Owen Paterson has long argued against Pillar 1 (direct) payments and so the chance to boost the Pillar 2 rural development pot at the expense of direct payments is likely to appeal, even if that puts UK Farmers at a disadvantage compared with their European counterparts.

“Although most of these funds should be available to farmers through agri-environment schemes,” said Mr Atkinson, “some of it is at risk of being lost to agriculture as it could be used to fund other rural development objectives outside the industry.”

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and Country Land & Business Association (CLA) claimed DEFRA had effectively been given the green light to implement measures that would be detrimental to farmers in England.

CLA president Harry Cotterell said the reform could “put English farmers at a competitive disadvantage to our Continental neighbours”, while NFU president Peter Kendall added that the deal granted individual countries too much flexibility.
Mr Paterson has responded to such criticism, saying it is ‘misplaced’, and adding that the implementation of Cap reform will be kept as simple as possible.

Mr Atkinson added this was not as simple as many would like, particularly in terms of the ‘Greening’ element which will dictate crop rotations and require ecological focus areas to be maintained on arable land.

Strutt & Parker’s experts are analysing the detailed text as it emerges and will be producing a detailed briefing for clients within the next few days.