Ireland has started lobbying the EU to keep pumping billions of Euro into farming well into the future.
The European Union spends around one-third of its entire budget on agriculture.
The EU’s current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) from 2021 to 2027 is worth €386.6 billion.
Most of that money goes towards farmers’ salaries through so-called direct payments. Another quarter of that budget is spent on rural development schemes.
The EU says that in return for the huge subsidies, farmers produce enough foods for us to eat and also work to protect the countryside.
But there are always pressures on the budget.
The lobbying for the future of the Common Agricultural Policy is now well under way.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, has been outlining Ireland’s view on the future of the CAP.
He says at a time when everybody is worried about security and defence, the lobbying for more funding for farms needs to shift too.
“The world order has changed in the most profound way since the last negotiation”, he said.
“Issues such as security and competitiveness will be major features of the next discussion. If we are to protect the CAP, it is vital that we position agriculture and food as a major strategic priority for the European Union.”
For Ireland, the EU funding is vital.
“The agri-food sector remains Ireland’s most important indigenous industry, employing over 169,000 people and supporting €19 billion worth of exports”, the ministry says.
That means Ireland wants the EU budget to continue to put serious money into agriculture.
“Experiences over the last few years, from the Covid pandemic to the war in Ukraine, to the current trade tensions with the US, have underlined the vital importance of this sector”, said Minister Heydon.
“Food supply chains have proved resilient, but we should not take our food, or the people who produce it, for granted. And CAP is crucial to the sector’s resilience and competitiveness.”
Ireland’s current CAP plan has a budget of €9.8 billion, most of which comes from the European Union. The Irish government contributes around €2 billion over a five year period.
Going into the next negotiations on the CAP, Ireland has four key priorities, the government says.
- A CAP that is more straightforward for farmers – providing straightforward measures farmers can understand and implement; allowing Member States more freedom to better target measures to their own circumstances; continuity of measures which are working well.
- A more flexible and responsive CAP – flexibility to respond to new and emerging approaches and to explore new funding streams which should be additional and complementary to CAP.
- An appropriate balance between all elements of sustainability – economic, environmental and social.
- An adequate budget for an effective CAP which retains the full toolbox of current measures under Pillar 1 and Pillar 2, and which has a dedicated and sufficient budget.
EU farming ministers agreed at the end of last year that the Common Agricultural Policy after 2027 should be based on “ensuring food security, while guaranteeing a fair standard of living for the agricultural community, and reasonable prices for consumers.”
The crunch moment will come later this year when the European Commission sets out its future budget.