Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) president Tim Cullinan has urged European Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski to get works under way on the comprehensive impact assessment of the CAP Strategic Plan.

Cullinan said: “This is an important step, but it must begin immediately. It’s long overdue.

"In fact, it’s something [the] IFA has been looking for since the CAP budget was announced in the summer of 2020.”

The IFA president said the Commission cannot try to force through the targets in Farm to Fork through the back door of the CAP national strategic plans.

Concerning

“The only assessment so far of the impact of the Farm to Fork strategy on incomes and food security was done by the USDA, and it was very concerning,” he said.

The Commission’s JRC technical report on effects of the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies was released in August.

In line with other reports, it showed a 5% to 15% decline in agriculture production and a 10% increase in production costs.

According to the Commission’s own study, 50% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions would be substituted by equivalent GHG emissions in third world countries.

This supports the need for greater coherence in Commission policy.

Cullinan said some of what’s proposed in the next CAP will have far-reaching and significant implications for Irish farmers and the wider sector.