Brussels, 14/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European Coordination Via Campesina sees “signs of hope” for European farmers in the semi-official document on reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP), “in particular for small farms, which have been forgotten by European policy in the past”.
A ceiling for direct payments, linked to employment, a minimum level of payments for small farms, and the maintenance of payments coupled to production to sustain farms in certain rural areas are “all proposals which have long been demanded by European Coordination Via Campesina”, the farmers' union explains in a press release on Tuesday 12 October.
The farmers' coordination does, however, have doubts that the future CAP can “be boiled down to making small improvements in the distribution of taxpayers' money in order to repair the damage of a market policy which does not allow farmers to make a living from their own products”.
Via Campesina takes the view that healthy agricultural and food economies “cannot be based on farm gate prices lower than production costs - as is the case now in most sectors. To speak about competitiveness in this context does not make any sense. Young people cannot be motivated to become farmers with the prospect of seeing their products at a loss. Supplying products at ultra-low prices (which are not seen by consumers) to agricultural processing industries and large retailers cannot continue to be the main motor of the CAP”.
The union calls in particular for production to be managed, without which there will be no “fair farm prices”. Finally, it calls for an end to be put to exports at prices below European production costs, and calls on the EU to go still further with its proposal for reform. (L.C./transl.jl)