Aylward reports on reforms needed to make EU sheep sector viable

By Pat O' Toole

Liam Aylward has completed his report on the sheep sector for the agriculture committee of the European Parliament, and will present it next month. Its opening words acknowledge the urgent need for action to halt the decline in the sector.

The major recommendations are for an environmental headage payment, mandatory country of origin labelling of lamb, a review of plans for electronic tagging, and a ring fenced EU-wide lamb marketing and promotional budget. Interestingly, his 10-point plan also calls for a rowing back of the Mandelson WTO tariff reduction proposals for sheepmeat, and for 14 days notice of SFP cross-compliance inspections.

Crucially, Aylward has recommended the setting up of an implementation task force, to ensure delivery of the package of proposals.

Following an exhaustive year long consultation process, which saw the Ireland East MEP visit all the member states with significant sheep and goat sectors, and which has seen all Irish stakeholders fully engaged in the process, the proposals offer some hope at a time when confidence among sheep farmers is at a low ebb.

"The objective of my report is to identify the problem, bring forward solutions and put in place the necessary EU structures so that practical reforms can now be effectively implemented,'' said Aylward.

The 10 key points of the action plan the report sets out are:

1. An EU Implementation Task Force, comprised of members from the Commission and the Presidency in Council should be established. It will oversee the practical reforms needed to make the EU sheep sector viable, competitive and profitable. Comprised of key officials from the European Commission and from the countries representing the four next Presidencies of the EU.

It will report progress to the agriculture committee, and Council of Agriculture Ministers every six months.

2. The sheep sector needs an urgent injection of financial support. Member states should have the right to introduce a new Environmental Sheep Maintenance Scheme, paid per ewe. This is a clear recognition of the positive role that the sheep sector contributes to environmental protection. An additional payment for traditional mountainous breeds is proposed, to preserve sheep in sensitive areas. These payments should be financed either directly by national governments or co-financed by the EU.
3. An EU Regulation for the labelling of sheepmeat products is called for, which would have an EU-wide logo, underwritten by a number of criteria, including farm assurance schemes and a country of origin indication.
4. The introduction of a compulsory electronic identification system for sheep, intended for December 2009, must be reviewed, due to the difficulty in implementation, high costs and unproven benefits. Each EU member state must be allowed the discretion to decide whether to introduce electronic tagging on a voluntary basis.
5. The EU Food Promotion Budget, valued at €45 million for 2008, should be increased, with ring fenced funding for EU lamb.

It should co-ordinate promotional campaigns for PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) and PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) sheepmeat products and target the relevant EU countries in order to maximise consumption.

6. The European Commission must publish a price series on retail, wholesale, processor and producer prices for each Member State on the internet every three months, to ensure more price transparency within the European sheep sector.

The reality is that the return to the producer for sheepmeat products as a percentage of the retail price is insufficient.

7. Lamb should be included in the 'Community Action Programme for Public Health' to promote the health and protein benefits of lamb to consumers, particularly to young people, low consumers of lamb products.
8. Existing import quota management regimes must be reviewed to ensure that domestically produced lamb is not exposed to unfair competition. EU negotiators at the WTO talks must reduce the scale of the proposed tariff cuts on sheepmeat and ensure that the option of sensitive product status for certain sheepmeat lines be available to the EU. It must provide assistance in opening export markets for EU sheepmeat and offals in countries where unnecessary restrictions currently apply.
9. As part of the simplification process in the review of the CAP Health Check, 14 days notice must be given to livestock farmers for on-farm cross-compliance inspections.
10. The Commission must support innovation, concentrating on both technical innovation for farms and product innovation with regard to lamb, cheese and by-products such as wool and pelts (the fifth quarter), where financial return is almost negligible at present.

The report will be presented to, and debated by, the Agricultural Committee on 6 May, with amendments being tabled the following day. It will be voted on by the agriculture committee on 27 May, going before Parliament for approval in July.

Proposals

IFA National Sheep Chairman, Henry Burns, has welcomed Liam Aylward's report saying that he had taken on board proposals put forward by the IFA National Sheep Committee.

IFA proposed a new sheep maintenance payment focused on the positive environmental attributes associated with sheep production and it is a key proposal in the report. Burns called on Minister Coughlan to fully support the recommendations for the sheep sector in the Aylward report.

Cormac Healy of MII has also welcomed the report. "It puts the sheep industry back on the agenda at Brussels for the first time in years,'' he said. "Compulsory labelling and promotional funding will deliver returns back to producers.'' Liam Aylward will address the Grassland Sheep Conference in Athenry on 1 May.

Recommendations

• An environmental-based headage payment
• EU and country of origin labelling
• A lamb marketing budget
• No compulsory electronic tagging
• Taskforce to ensure delivery