To Give a New Strategic Course to the CAP

PARIS, January 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Today, the think tank momagri is forwarding to European policy and agricultural decision makers a proposal that seeks to give a new strategic course to the CAP by 2020.

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:

http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7423751-momagri-new-strategic-course-cap/ 

At issue is the current CAP, which goes against the flow of other agricultural policies in a world where agricultural production is again becoming a decisive component of national security.

An examination of the Farm Bill and other agricultural policies uncovers the flaws of our CAP in a world of free trade marked by the increase of the considerable uncertainty of agricultural markets.

How can one explain that the CAP is the sole policy to allocate close to sixty percent of its budget to decoupled direct payments… without any market consideration?  And this is occurring at a time when other agricultural powers are focusing on mechanisms to curb the negative impact of market instability on agricultural incomes.

Worse even and contrary to forecasts, agricultural prices will experience an increase in the "extreme" volatility, a situation that is highly disruptive.

Today, in the face of warning signals regarding the milk crisis and price volatility of plant crops, the agricultural community is questioning possible alternatives.

The mid-term revision of the multi-annual financial framework in 2016-2017 provides an opportunity to initiate the adaptation of the CAP to the realities of agricultural markets!

The think tank momagri has carried out various simulations to assess the impact of transferring the allocations for decoupled direct payments to counter-cyclical systems.  Today, momagri releases its results, which show that it is possible to break from the current blueprint, while improving the added value of European expenditures:

• Farmers' incomes would be stabilized at a level covering production costs,
• Crisis situations would be managed by counter-cyclical mechanisms,
• Implementing momagri's proposals over the 2007-2013 years would have allowed for a €8.6 billion average annual budget saving,
• Implementing momagri's proposals over the 2014-2020 years would save on average €4.8 billion annually, according to average price projections.

Food security imparts a specific status that is akin to national security to agriculture. The United States includes it in its Farm Bill.  It is time for the European Union to give a new strategic course to the CAP by implementing a policy that really meets the challenges.

Press contact: [email protected]

Video: 
     http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7423751-momagri-new-strategic-course-cap/

SOURCE momagri