Brussels, 21/12/2009 (Agence Europe) - In their response made on Friday 18 December, to forecasts of sharp falls in agricultural income for 2009 (EUROPE 10044), COPA (Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations in the European Union) and COGECA (General Committee for Agricultural Cooperation in the EU) urge the Commission to: - “take urgent action”; - to ensure that “all necessary tools for managing the EU's agricultural markets are used in full”; - to ensure that sufficient funds are allocated to finance a strong common agricultural policy (CAP) post-2013. According to these agricultural organisations, the sharp fall in prices paid to farmers for their products is the main cause of this considerable drop. Since 2003, farmers have experienced a continual drop in prices at the same time as a rise in costs, which has caused a fall in agricultural incomes to 1993/1994 levels in certain countries. Padraig Walshe, the president of COPA stated that “this situation is simply not acceptable”. Farmers' income is on average less than 50% of average earnings in the EU and “the market is simply not functioning properly”. He affirmed that the farmers' position in the food chain must also be reinforced, which could be achieved by concentrating supply via cooperatives and producer organisations. Copa-Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen underlined: “The CAP budget only represents 0.4% of GDP. Without the CAP, consumers will become dependent on food imports with no control over how they are produced, the price or availability”. He also declared that a strong CAP is necessary, which provides the right tools and incentives to maintain farmers' incomes, and that to ensure “that they can play their role in addressing future challenges is consequently vital”. The EU agricultural organisations consider that without adequate support, EU agricultural production will fall further, causing a sharp rise in food prices for consumers. (L.C./transl.fl)