The EU's future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) needs to include a safety net to protect framers and their income, said Spanish Agriculture Minister Elena Espinosa after an EU-27 ministerial debate on post-2013 CAP market management measures on Monday (22 February).
"In fact, we need to go beyond that" and the safety net should apply to all operators involved in the supply chain, she added.
Among the new measures put forward by the delegations were the creation of income insurance schemes, strengthened cooperation between producer organisations and other operators of the supply chain and the establishment of a crisis fund.
Meanwhile, EU Farm Commissioner Dacian Cioloş stressed that any future measures should not crowd out other initiatives taken to boost the competitiveness of EU agriculture. They should include a crisis management system to guarantee "a certain amount of income stability" for farmers and distribute money more effectively throughout the supply chain, he said.
Conciliating market orientation with safety measures
Successive CAP reforms since 1992, ministers agree, were sufficiently market-oriented and some existing measures, such as direct payments, even "dampen" price and income risks for farmers.
At the same time, the ministers highlighted the need to maintain an efficient safety net, in particular against a background of growing price volatility and market instability, the Spanish EU Presidency said.
A background paper tabled by the presidency suggested that price and supply crises "are likely to be more frequent and more severe" in future and "this will have a definite negative impact" on producer income, food availability and the economy as a whole.
In this context, the EU farm model must include the necessary tools "to stabilise markets and deal with price volatility" and ensure farmers with fair incomes "that reflect their contribution to society," the paper continued.
Denmark, Sweden and the UK, however, share the view that no new measures are needed, as improved market orientation and competitiveness of EU agriculture provide the best safety net for farmers.
