The future of the Common Agricultural Policy was high on the agenda when NFU President Peter Kendall met EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dacian CioloÅŸ.

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Mr Kendall was delighted that the commissioner had taken time out to visit farms in the UK.

He said: “These are traditional family farms, perhaps operating on a larger scale than some family farms on the continent, but are still the bedrock of farming in the UK. Even these farms, tightly run, using the latest technology, and business focused as they are, are heavily reliant on the single farm payment.”

Focus on Supply Chain and Productive Farming

Mr Kendall urged the commissioner to focus on the supply chain and ensure it was fairer and more balanced, so that farmers stand a much better chance of making profitable returns.

He cited the dairy industry as an example of where the market is failing primary producers: “We are losing too many good dairy farmers. This ought to be a sector that is thriving; instead it is being strangled by the level of undercutting that is happening in the supply chain.”

On the question of further greening of the CAP, Mr Kendall made the case for productive farming and warned the commissioner of the dangers of introducing obligatory measures within Pillar 1 that would require farmers to take land out of production.

Farmers on both farms agreed that this would negatively impact their businesses.

On the need for simplicity in any future system, something farm ministers across Europe have stressed in their initial discussions, Mr Kendall had a straightforward message.

“Unfortunately, the English experience provides a case-study of how not to implement reform. I would urge the EU Commission to ensure that, certainly as far as direct payments go, they keep an entitlement-based system as simple as possible.

“The more layers, the greater the risk of error in delivery on the part of the authorities and the greater the restrictions on dynamic businesses, like the ones we’ve seen today; that operate under a range of long and short term tenancies and share farming and contracting agreements.”

The EU Commission published its Communication on ‘The CAP towards 2020’ in November. It is due to present formal legislative proposals in mid-2011 and a new regime is scheduled to come into force in 2014. A ‘citizens’ summary’ of the Communication is available here.