Chairman of the German Farm Organisation (DBV) Joachim Rukwied was elected unopposed as president of the Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations (Copa) on Friday 22 September.
Speaking to the press, he pledged to do all he could to help ensure a viable future for EU farmers. He said he strongly believed in the European added value in the common agricultural policy. “A top priority for me will be to make sure that we have a strong, common more sustainable and simpler CAP in the years to come, supported by sufficient funding, to help farmers tackle the increasing challenges like climate change and volatile markets”, he said.
He argued for keeping direct payments at current levels in the first pillar of the CAP “as this helps farmers to better manage income risks”. Market safety nets must also be maintained and further developed, he said. In his view, focus also needs to be put on measures to help farmers better manage market risks with the development of futures markets to cope with increasing market volatility.
He emphasised that risk management measures must remain voluntary for producers and remain in the second pillar of the CAP. “We need to see this reflected in the Commissions Communication on the CAP which could be released at the end of November”, he added.
He called, too, for the position of farmers in the food chain to be improved. “I look forward to seeing concrete proposals (from the Commission) in 2018 to eliminate unfair trade practices in the food chain”. He also wants legislation to curb these practices “since the voluntary approaches haven’t worked”.
He said he wanted fair and balanced trade agreements. “We have serious concerns about the current trade deals being negotiated with the EU Latin American trade bloc Mercosur, as well as with Australia and New Zealand”, he stated, and pledged to push to make sure that a good deal for European farmers is achieved and to avoid agriculture being used as “a bargaining chip in the talks”.
“As far as Brexit is concerned, it will be important to minimise any disruption to trade and to fill the €10.3 billion shortfall caused by the exit of the UK from the EU”, he said.
He pointed out that farmers’ income was equivalent to 40% of the average EU income and had fallen by 20% over the course of the last four years.
Copa also elected six vice-presidents: Joe Healy from the Irish Farmers Association (IFA); Marian Sikora from the Polish Federation of Agricultural Producers; Henri Brichart (FNSEA); Roberto Moncalvo from the Italian farmers’ union Coldiretti ; Martin Merrild from the Danish Agriculture and Food Council; and Franz Reisecker from the Austrian Chamber of Agriculture (LKO). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)