Current CAP proposals will deliver for consultants, but will critically undermine farmers unless Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue brings a sense of realism to the debate, ICMSA president Pat McCormack has warned.

“Based on the most up-to-date reports, we were headed towards a situation where thousands of farm families across the entire country will suffer substantial cuts to their direct payments, in addition to new and unsurpassed levels of inspection and regulation,” McCormack said.

“We’re headed towards less payments for much more regulation and absolutely nothing for meaningful sustainability."

Unworkable exercise

The ICMSA president said he is very concerned that the CAP debate is “being hijacked by vested interests” intent on turning CAP into an “unworkable environmental exercise”.

“The Government in general, and our Minister for Agriculture in particular, have to get a hold of this issue,” McCormack continued.

“They could start by remembering that the primary purpose of CAP is to deliver safe and sustainable food from a farm sector, while ensuring proportionate incomes for the farmer primary producers.”

Light on funding

The ICSMA said that based on documents presented at the CAP Consultative Committee, the current proposals from the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine are heavily weighted towards consultant input at farm level, inspection, regulation and enforcement, while being “notably light on the funding” for the farmers expected to carry out this work.

“It was always frankly unrealistic to ask farmers to do much, much more for the same payment. But the suggestion now is that the farmers do much, much more for much less money,” McCormack said.

“This is the kind of nonsense that’s just bringing the whole question of CAP into disrepute and making it absurd.”

Convergence

The ICMSA said that the proposal that convergence will deliver for small- and medium-sized farmers is completely wrong and that ‘the big gainers’ would be non-farmers.

“It’s time for some realism and this must be based on the maximum level of co-funding from our Government,” McCormack said.

“We need a convergence model that protects farmers with a low overall payment. We need an eco scheme that is simple and properly rewards farmers.

"We need a clear definition of a ‘genuine farmer’ that ensures only people genuinely farming get a payment.

“We need a refocused Pillar II supporting farmers who produce food sustainably from an economic, social and environmental perspective. It’s never too late to do the right thing.”