The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has called for the CAP budget to be increased to help farmers meet policy needs.
It comes from the body’s report ‘Fostering sustainable and resilient food systems at times of growing crises’.
The report was worked on by former Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) president Joe Healy, along with Hungary’s Piroska Kállay and France’s Arnold Puech d'Alissac.
As the EU prepares to reopen the debate ahead of the 2027 CAP reform, the EESC has proposed that there should be increases to the policy’s budget.
“Increase the CAP and EMFAF budget to provide adequate financial resources to meet policy needs and ambitions in the areas of EU agriculture, fisheries and food,” it stated.
Significant increase
The body has also requested that the CAP crisis reserve is increased significantly from its current €450m budget and be made multi-annual.
In addition, the amount of funding and the criteria for eligibility outside the CAP that a member state can use to fund its own schemes for farmers has been asked to be expanded.
This is currently €20,000 over three years, but the EESC has advised that this be raised to €50,000 over the same timeframe.
The report found that the current CAP was unable to respond to the crisis that hit farming on the back of surging costs after the outbreak of war.
“The last CAP reform … had a very strong environmental orientation and practically ignored the CMO.
“The result was inadequate price support and crisis management tools that were unable to support farm incomes adequately when the COVID-19 crisis struck, followed by the war in Ukraine and the resulting energy and input cost crisis.”
Recommendations
The report was formed on the back of a request from the Hungarian presidency of the council of the EU.
In terms of environment and sustainability, the consultative body has recommended that all current and future EU trade deals fully incorporate green deal and Farm to Fork standards, farmers should be rewarded for carbon sequestration and carbon leakage should be avoided.
Other measures include encouraging young people and women into agriculture by fostering generational renewal, updating to market intervention tools and cutting red tape in the food supply chain.
The EESC also requested that price guarantees should be introduced to allow farmers to receive a fair price for their produce, with Joe Healy highlighting the importance of ensuring food security through sustainable prices.
“Concrete measures are needed to ensure that primary producers receive a fair price, for example by introducing price guarantees and regulating the balance of power in the food chain.”
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The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has called for the CAP budget to be increased to help farmers meet policy needs.
It comes from the body’s report ‘Fostering sustainable and resilient food systems at times of growing crises’.
The report was worked on by former Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) president Joe Healy, along with Hungary’s Piroska Kállay and France’s Arnold Puech d'Alissac.
As the EU prepares to reopen the debate ahead of the 2027 CAP reform, the EESC has proposed that there should be increases to the policy’s budget.
“Increase the CAP and EMFAF budget to provide adequate financial resources to meet policy needs and ambitions in the areas of EU agriculture, fisheries and food,” it stated.
Significant increase
The body has also requested that the CAP crisis reserve is increased significantly from its current €450m budget and be made multi-annual.
In addition, the amount of funding and the criteria for eligibility outside the CAP that a member state can use to fund its own schemes for farmers has been asked to be expanded.
This is currently €20,000 over three years, but the EESC has advised that this be raised to €50,000 over the same timeframe.
The report found that the current CAP was unable to respond to the crisis that hit farming on the back of surging costs after the outbreak of war.
“The last CAP reform … had a very strong environmental orientation and practically ignored the CMO.
“The result was inadequate price support and crisis management tools that were unable to support farm incomes adequately when the COVID-19 crisis struck, followed by the war in Ukraine and the resulting energy and input cost crisis.”
Recommendations
The report was formed on the back of a request from the Hungarian presidency of the council of the EU.
In terms of environment and sustainability, the consultative body has recommended that all current and future EU trade deals fully incorporate green deal and Farm to Fork standards, farmers should be rewarded for carbon sequestration and carbon leakage should be avoided.
Other measures include encouraging young people and women into agriculture by fostering generational renewal, updating to market intervention tools and cutting red tape in the food supply chain.
The EESC also requested that price guarantees should be introduced to allow farmers to receive a fair price for their produce, with Joe Healy highlighting the importance of ensuring food security through sustainable prices.
“Concrete measures are needed to ensure that primary producers receive a fair price, for example by introducing price guarantees and regulating the balance of power in the food chain.”
Read more
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