Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler underlined that farmers should be guaranteed a fair income also in the future, speaking at the European Commission’s (EC) mid-term review of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
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“The EC will not let Finnish farmers down. There are good reasons why the support for our farmers is fully justified. They deserve a fair standard of living, including in Nordic regions, and they deserve additional compensation, if they ensure the quality and safety of our food, and the good management of our landscape and our livestock. But the CAP must be changed, not only in the interests of Finnish taxpayers and consumers, but just as importantly to better meet the needs of Finnish farmers. The existing over-bureaucratic support regime that encourages farmers to use the most intensive methods possible is one that risks losing the support of European taxpayers,” he said.
According to a recent Eurobarometer poll, over 90% of the citizens in Finland want a farm policy to ensure safe food and a healthy environment. But only half of those surveyed think that the existing CAP achieves these goals. “So something has to be done. As it stands, the common agricultural policy cannot meet these goals. So we cannot afford to take a “wait-and-see” approach – we must take action now.”, Fischler pointed out.
Maintaining support
Fischler rejected claims that the EC wanted to cut the farm budget. “We want to maintain the level of support for the farming sector. This review is about spending the money in a more sensible and efficient way,” he underlined.
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By GlobalData“Our intention is to keep farmers in business, to give them a payment decoupled from production to stabilise their incomes. We want them to produce, to sell their products.
But on top of that, more money will be available to support farmers who have to work under difficult climatic conditions, as it is the case in the many less favoured areas in Finland,” Fischler stressed.
The EC proposes to reduce income support to larger farms by 3% a year until reaching 20% and to channel the money saved into rural development. “This would lead to massive increases in EU funding for rural development. We want to use this money for new measures on quality, animal welfare and meeting standards.
“In the Finnish context, it should not be overlooked that a reinforced rural development policy means also more support in less-favoured areas and for agri-environment schemes.
This is of particular importance because currently there is simply not enough EU money to meet the Finnish farmers’ demand for environmental programmes. And I can tell you that not even one Finnish farmer would be affected by the capping of farm subsidies at €300 000,” he concluded.
