Brussels, 23/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - The Special Agriculture Committee (SAC) on Monday 22 January was divided over the conclusions of the report published on 21 December 2006 by the European Commission on ways to make up for the employment deficit in rural areas (EUROPE 9334). The report is to be presented in due course to the European agriculture ministers.
In its communication, the Commission considers the impact of decoupling introduced into the 2003 reform of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) should not on the whole have great effect as far as employment is concerned, as adjustment of production structures will be offset by more effective use of capital and land and will result in economically more sustainable activities. The document stresses also that better market orientation should give rise to new revenue possibilities. During the SAC meeting on 22 January, several Member States pointed out that they did not support this analysis. Thus, France, Austria, Ireland, Greece and, to some extent, Portugal, said that the 2003 reform has an “adverse” effect on employment in rural areas. Ireland, however, acknowledges that agricultural reforms do have a beneficial impact on the environment.
The report highlights the aging of the population in rural areas. Thus, according to Commission data, fewer than 10% of farmers in the EU25 are below 35 yeas of age and over 24% are over 65 years of age. During the period 2000-2005, farming in the EU25 mainly suffered from losses in young workers (the 25-54 age-group). Belgium expressed great concern about this problem of population ageing in rural areas, and also about the fact that many farmers give up farming after a first unsuccessful attempt. Poland set itself apart by forecasting that its rural population would be younger over the next ten years. Finally, Finland regretted that the report does not sufficiently cover the specific difficulties encountered by farmers in the more remote areas.
Generally speaking, several Member States in favour of maintaining farmers' income and jobs implicitly reproached the Commission for encouraging diversification of jobs in rural areas (tourism, crafts industry and hosting structures in the rural environment, investment in cultural heritage, etc.) solely to replace the loss of farm jobs arising from reforms. (lc)