The IFA’s position, closely reflected by the EU-wide organisation COPA-COGECA, is to retain the two-pillar structure of CAP and defend existing funding levels. New risk-management measures to protect farmers from price volatility should be voluntary and left to each member state’s decision, they argue. The main changes should focus on simplification, with an overhaul of greening and inspections, and strengthening farmers’ position in the supply chain. The ICMSA and ICSA have focused their campaigns on safeguarding the CAP budget in the wake of Brexit.

Macra and its European counterpart CEJA have made more radical suggestions for CAP reform, calling for 20% of its budget to target generational renewal. This should include measures to ensure that older farmers remain fully active and don’t draw state pensions if they are to keep receiving farm payments, Macra has argued.

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Full series: CAP 2020