'Steer clear of interfering in decisions'

Aug 8 2007

by Anna Lognonne, The Journal

THE European Commission must confine itself to only a “health check” when it re-examines its policy on subsidy decoupling next year, says the National Beef Association. It said a complete overhaul of the CAP, on the same lines as the so-called 2002 review which eventually resulted in a full-scale revamp and then the dismantling of direct subsidies in 2005, is the last thing farmers want or need when they are just beginning to get to grips with recent changes. NBA director Kim Haywood said: “The 2005 reforms moved UK farming irreversibly along the decoupled route and there have already been significant movements in the beef sector to accommodate the commission’s wish to see more alignment between production and the market. Beef farmers are also right in the middle of moves to erase the glaring production inefficiencies created by decades of poorly targeted headage payments and any decision in Brussels that interrupted this much needed progression would be both ill-advised and confusing.” The NBA also wants the commission and the UK Government to retreat as far as possible from interfering with commercial decisions at farm level. They should confine themselves to disease control, food safety issues, farmyard research, the promotion of overseas marketing and assistance for farmers, through knowledge transfer and other tools, as they meet the challenge of the move from coupled to decoupled production systems. “Farmers want only to farm now that decoupling has given them the freedom to manage their businesses in the way that is best for their holding, and for themselves,” said Ms Haywood. Story continues ADVERTISEMENT “Government, and the commission, should steer clear of issues that impact directly on commercial farming and contribute to much needed, long term stability by creating the least regulated and least complicated, management environment that is possible for practical farmers instead.”

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