CAP deal finalized
Richard Halleron discusses the agreement with Michelle O’Neill. Agri-food representatives have expressed relief as a strict EU deadline was approaching in August.
Farm Minister Michelle O’Neill has succeeded in securing a CAP deal that has met with almost universal approval from Northern Ireland’s farm stakeholder groups.
Significantly, the announcement on CAP was combined with a confirmation of the funding package that will drive forward the Going for Growth strategy – published by the Agri-Food Strategy Board in May 2013 – and the additional financing measures that will be included within the new Rural Development Programme (RDP).
“I have kept my word,” Michelle O’Neill told agendaNi. “We now have an overarching agreement that covers pillar one of the CAP, the new RDP and the funding of the Going for Growth strategy. I had never any intention of allowing the CAP issue to become a ‘default’ matter. What we now have is a clear blueprint for the farming and food sectors moving forward.”
Michelle O’Neill was “very pleased” that the Executive has reached a resolution on this important issue.
“There were diverse views on some of the remaining CAP implementation issues,” she continued. “Compromise was needed and we have succeeded in finding a fair and balanced solution which represents a good outcome for farmers’ right across the North. We were all well aware that if decisions on these issues are not notified to the EU Commission by 1 August 2014, then the default position would be imposed on us by Brussels. This was a situation I was determined to avoid, especially when I fought so hard to secure the right to make decisions locally.”
In reaching an agreed outcome, the Executive has concluded that there should be a single region model, no voluntary coupled support – though the latter will be kept under review – and an areas of natural constraint (ANC) scheme in pillar two for the first two years of the next CAP period, with a review thereafter.
O’Neill added: “I hope to implement a one-year transitional payment for farmers in the disadvantaged area in 2015-2016 (state aid rules permitting) as these areas will no longer be eligible for pillar two support under the rules of the new Rural Development Regulation. However, I will not be changing the current LFA [less favoured area] boundaries in the short term and the re-designation of these boundaries based on the new ANC criteria can be considered in tandem with the review of the ANC scheme.”
The Executive also agreed that the basic payment and the greening payment will move to a flat rate payment per hectare over a seven-year transition period starting in 2015. “In my view,” O’Neill said, “this strikes the appropriate balance between allowing reasonable time for the industry to adjust and moving towards a support regime that is fair and defensible.”
On rural development funding, the Executive also agreed to support her proposals for a Rural Development Programme over 2014-2020 worth up to £623 million. This represents a significant increase in funding from the previous programme (£330 million).
The proposed package will include approximately £186.5 million of European funding, matched pound-for-pound from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) budget. “Having received the Executive’s approval, my department will bid for up to £250 million of additional funds to give a total budget value of up to £623 million,” the Minister confirmed.
O’Neill added: “This funding will help us deliver on the aims and objectives in the Agri-Food Strategy Board’s Going for Growth report, including the Farm Business Improvement Scheme.”
She concluded: “This proposed scheme will be an important part of the next Rural Development Programme and will include a portfolio of measures to support sustainable growth in the agri-food industry, including the beef sector, as I look to ensure this vitally important industry is adequately supported going forward.”
Industry and political responses
“It was crucially important for the Farm Minister and her Executive colleagues to agree a package of measures at this stage. Allowing the matter to slide into a default scenario would have been the worst of all worlds. But from a young farmer’s point of view, there is still a lot of work to be completed at DARD level.
“We need total clarification on how the new top up support measures will be introduced, who will be eligible and what arrangements will be put in place to ensure that those young farmers who are deemed eligible can secure the Level 2 training qualification they need before the beginning of May 2015. In reality, we need all of these issues sorted out before September of this year. So the clock is ticking.”
Martyn Blair, Young Farmers’ Clubs
“There is a broad level of agreement, and palpable relief, amongst farmers that I have spoken to regarding the detail of the package announced by Michelle O’Neill. Looking ahead, there is little doubt that the new Rural Development Programme will play a key role in helping drive forward efficiencies at farm level. And in this context, the need for realistic drainage and grassland re-seeding schemes are immediately obvious.”
Ian Buchanan, Wool Marketing Board
“This clarity is long overdue. The threat of default has been hanging over farmers and the wider agri-food industry for months so clarity on the main aspects of the package will at least now allow farmers to know what the future holds. The months of public grandstanding have actually resulted in a CAP package which has a transition period less than what was originally proposed by DARD. Having an ANC scheme in pillar two and maintaining the current LFA boundaries will be welcomed by many. I have long said that this exercise should be separate from CAP reform given its complexity and importance. However, this decision was largely inevitable given the timeframe available to re-designate new boundaries.”
Jim Nicholson MEP
“For me, the key issue at stake was that of securing a realistic transition period, one which would provide all our farm businesses with sufficient time to adapt to the new CAP measures. And I am happy that the new pillar one arrangements meet this requirement.
“Fundamentally, we must have a farming sector in Northern Ireland that has a sustainable future. The Farm Business Improvement Scheme that has been included within the new Rural Development Programme will help facilitate this objective. I have also pushed to ensure that sufficient flexibility has been built into the new RDP so as to allow the Farm Minister to provide targeted support to farmers in the current disadvantaged areas.”
Diane Dodds MEP
