CAP needs to focus on efficiency argues Dairy UKs Peter Dawson
The CAP needs to focus on efficiency, Dairy UK Policy Director Peter Dawson told a major conference in London today.
Speaking at the Westminster Food & Nutrition Forum Keynote Seminar: UK farming and the future of the Common Agricultural Policy, Mr Dawson went on to explain that farms need to be competitive to survive. Europe has to address its own food security and assist other countries to do so as well.
However, Dawson also argued that helping dairy farmers cope with market price volatility is a strong economic justification for retaining the Single Farm Payment as the payment helps dairy farmers through the lean times, and provides a degree of financial security which enables dairy farmers to engage in long term planning.
We dont want the value of the Single Farm Payment to UK farmers significantly reduced to the benefit of our EU competitors said Dawson. And we dont want to see any form of capping of payments to large farms. That would discriminate against the UKs larger, more efficient farms.
Commenting on the recommendations of the High Level Experts Group (HLEG) on Milk on producer contracts, Dawson went on to say that freely negotiated contracts are at the very heart of a market driven industry. Producer contracts in the UK are more highly developed than the rest of the European Union. They are delivering price premiums for farmers and greater price stability. The industry would have a problem if the Commission, or the European Parliament for that matter, took it upon themselves to detail exactly what should be in them.
Mr Dawson also commented on the HLEGs recommendation that producer organisations should be exempt from certain requirements of competition law. He observed that a possible outcome could be the creation of regional or national monopolies. Monopolies stultify industries by deterring investment, said Dawson. This would also contradict the principle that the CAP should drive efficiency and that markets are the mechanism to do this.
About Dairy UK:
Dairy UK is a trade association that represents the interests of dairy farmers, producer co-ops, milk processors and doorstep deliverymen. For more information visit www.dairyUK.org.