NI: CAP reform decision could be delayed

Concerns are growing that the election could blow off course plans to have decisions on CAP reform in place by Christmas. The election date, November 26, is just over a week before the end of CAP reform consultation period on December 5.

The target was for farm minister Ian Pearson to take decisions by late December or early January, giving farmers a full year to plan for the changes decoupling will bring.

Now, however, doubts about the future of devolved government could wreck that timetable. If there is any prospect of an early return of an Executive and a local agriculture minister efforts will be made to delay decisions until they can be taken by a new minister.

This could also see a new Stormont agriculture committee re-visiting the most contentious part of the deal - the decision on the decoupling method chosen.

While DARD has not commented officially it has been clear since the election was called that Mr Pearson would like to see the decision taken at a local level.

With the election unlikely to produce an early return of devolution the key question will be how long the Government will allow matters to run before a direct rule minister takes what will be a crucial decision for the industry.

In theory this can be delayed until well into next year, but the Ulster Farmers Union has warned that the uncertainty this would create would be unacceptable. It has also urged campaigning politicians not to advocate policies that would delay decisions on CAP reform.

Meanwhile the Journal understands that the Department of Agriculture will publish three possible hybrid decoupling models next week.

These will be designed to give farmers a range of options upon which debate can be focused. When these are published this will be confirmation that the possibility of flat rate decoupling has effectively been dropped, leaving a choice between historic and one of the three hybrid models that will emerge next week.