How great really is the new CAP?
CAP, which is worth around a third of the EU's 2021-2027 budget, will spend 387bn on payments to farmers and support for rural development. And, because farming accounts for 10% of EU greenhouse gas emissions, there will be a new focus on the environment and the introduction of eco-schemes. Countries will be required to spend 20% of payments to farmers from 2023-2024, and 25% between 2025-2027, on eco-schemes that protect the environment. Any funds below those limits that are not spent on eco-schemes must be spent on green measures in other areas. Flexibility  Meanwhile, each country must submit a plan for spending its share of the CAP to the European Commission, which will assess whether it meets legally-binding EU targets. And, a major goal is to stop the decline of Europes small farms - an issue that is very applicable to Ireland. CAP would oblige each EU country to redistribute a minimum of 10% of payments to farmers to smaller farms. The new CAP says countries should use criteria like income tests to define who is an active farmer and can receive subsidies - an attempt to stop large businesses and landowners sucking up money. Countries must give roughly 3% of subsidies to young farmers under the age of 40 while the deal also creates a 450m crisis fund in case agricultural markets are disrupted by an emergency such as a pandemic. A good day  Overall it's a good day at EU level and it's a good day for Irish farm families, Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue declared on Monday after the Council of Ministers agreed the deal. This is one of the most significant reforms of CAP since the 1990s and is one that ensures our farmers will continue to produce quality, top-class food that we are renowned across the world for. It underpins and supports incomes, and provides the flexibility to us at national level to frame the schemes and the CAP that will work for Ireland and support farm families.  But many Irish farm leaders are deeply unhappy with the new deal. Environment  Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) President, Pat McCormack said farmers here would be left carrying the climate change can for both EU consumers and corporations, because of reduced payments tied up with additional terms and conditions. The Irish Co-operative Organisation Society Ltd (ICOS) said CAP would disadvantage commercial farming while IFA simply referred to it as a bad deal for Ireland. "The model of convergence is demonstrably flawed and as weve said before, its not the motive of this model of convergence that we object to; its the outcome of this model of convergence, where the weight of payment has switched from farming to landowning, said Mr McCormack. Thats fundamentally unfair and its deeply unpopular with the active farmers who are the engine of the sector and the sectors exports.  Eco-schemes  Speaking about the eco-schemes, he highlighted how Irish farmers were now facing a cut of 25% in their BPS/Greening payment to fund the schemes. Potentially they will be cut another 10-15% to fund frontloading, National Reserves, etc," Mr McCormack continued. The blunt and uncomfortable reality is that this will be a disaster for family farms throughout Ireland.  Commercial farming  ICOS President Jerry Long reiterated the organisation's concerns over what it described as the significant reallocation of CAP funding that disadvantages productive farms. It is commercial dairy, tillage, and drystock farmers who are losing out from this agreement, which fails to take into account the cost-intensive nature of their operations - incurred by specific demands concerning traceability, hygiene, etc, he added. These are the farmers who are driving our export industry, and who are reinvesting in jobs and infrastructure in our rural communities. The CAP payments made to those farmers have a multiplier effect in their community and this decision on re-allocation will have knock-on economic implications on our rural economies.  Incomes  IFA President, Tim Cullinan was in agreement with Mr Long and said the CAP in its current form will potentially devastate the incomes of a cohort of Irish farmers.  While some of the flexibilities that have been worked into the detailed text on eco-schemes and redistribution may help to reduce the impact, the reform will still be severe on drystock and tillage farmers who worked hard to build up strong per hectare entitlement values, he continued. Now that the deal has been agreed in Europe, the Irish Government needs to step up to the plate to support productive farmers through national co-financing, the 1.5bn commitment on Carbon Tax, and the Brexit Adjustment Reserve. The Government must support productive beef, sheep and tillage farmers.  Support  Mr Cullinan said there were three ways in which this can be achieved including through national co-financing of the CAP; roll-out of the 1.5bn committed by the Government from Carbon Tax receipts; and accessing the Brexit Adjustment Reserve because the drystock sector will be hit by Brexit also. These sectors need more supports, not less. The Minister and the Government need to deliver a serious package for drystock and tillage farmers.