Brussels, 12/09/2008 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in Brussels on Thursday 11 September 2008, the European Parliament's budgets committee recognised the need for urgent farm aid for developing countries, but the budgets committee rapporteur on the financial aspects of the European Commission's draft regulation on farm aid for developing countries, Reimer Böge (EPP-ED, Germany), said he disagreed with the Commission's mooted funding mechanism. The EP's development committee, which is mainly responsible for the issue, is naturally very enthusiastic and is expected to adopt its report on 7 October 2008. The EP is expected to vote on the draft legislation in plenary in November.
Reimer Böge said that the draft regulation would introduce direct aid for non-EU countries and the necessary funding should therefore come from Heading 4 (external actions) of the Financial Perspectives (the EU's budget). The Commission is suggesting making use of un-used farm funding from Heading 2 (the preservation and management of natural resources), which includes farming. Political group representatives present at the budgets committee meeting agreed with the rapporteur.
There is insufficient funding left under Heading 4 to provide the €750 million needed in 2008 and the €250 million in 2009, so Reimer Böge recommends that the Financial Perspectives be reviewed, as foreseen in the inter-institutional agreement on budget issues. The budgets committee will adopt its opinion on 22 September 2008.
During the debate at the development committee on 10 September 2008, the rapporteur Gay Mitchell (EPP-ED, Ireland) said that some of the €1 billon of funding should be used to buy food because grain stocks have never been so low, but the lion's share of the funding would be used to buy seeds and fertilisers to help developing countries expand food production.
Despite his backing for the proposal, the director general of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Jacques Diouf, said it was already too late for this sowing season in the southern hemisphere. He said there would be a second opportunity to plant crops in September-October in the northern hemisphere but time was of the essence. Josette Sheeran, the director of the United Nations' World Food Programme, said the fund was a good idea at the right time, adding that the current food crisis could well last a further three or four years. MEP Catherine Guy-Quint (PES, France) suggested that a European World Food Aid Fund should be set up, funded from EU budget surpluses.
At a public hearing organised by the EP's agriculture committee on 10 September 2008, Mairead Mc Guinness (EPP-ED, Ireland), who is preparing an own initiative report on food security, said that one would have to be extremely prudent about how developing countries used the €1 billon of EU funding. She asked Jacques Diouf how one could be sure that the funding would actually end up going to the small farmers. Diouf said it was necessary to reach as many small farmers as possible and some success had been achieved in the past, giving the example of a voucher system in Malawi for the purchase of supplies, which had made it possible to triple maize production in three years. He noted that irrigation and access to land were also needed to increase farm production, adding that massive investment in agriculture was required. (L.C./transl.fl).