Farmers briefed on CAP 'health check'

An exercise being conducted by the European Commission to re-visit the European Common Agricultural Policy is aimed at freeing farmers from unnecessary restrictions and letting them maximise their production potential.

Malta's representative on the European Commission's DG Agriculture, Leonard Mizzi, told Maltese farmers and agriculture stakeholders that the proposals will allow them to face the new challenges and opportunities, including on issues such as climate change, better water management and the protection of biodiversity.

He said the aim of the proposals was to further modernise, simplify and streamline the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), remove remaining restrictions on farmers and help them respond to growing demand for food.

Dr Mizzi explained that the exercise, referred to as a "health check" of the CAP, proposes a range of measures such as the gradual increase of milk quotas before they are abolished in 2015, and a reduction in market intervention.

Asked what these proposals actually meant for the Maltese farmers, Dr Mizzi admitted that certain measures did not apply to Malta. However, others did, such as the investment in renewable energy and water retention measures.

Among other measures, the Commission is proposing to abolish what was known as the set-aside: a requirement for farmers to leave 10 per cent of their arable land fallow, thus allowing them to maximise their potential.

Speaking about the rising cost of food and the use of crops for the production of bio-fuels, Dr Mizzi said only one per cent of the total agricultural area in the EU is used to grow crops to produce bio-fuel.

The consultation process on the proposals will end in autumn, after which a debate with the EU agriculture ministers will begin with the proposals being in place by the end of this year, he said.