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Reform of the European Common Agricultural Policy

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*Introduction The European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was established in the EU in the late 1960s. It is aimed to support farmers’ incomes while encouraging them to produce high quality food products to meet consumer demand. The CAP protects EU farmers and agricultural producers from global competition in three ways: import tariffs, export subsidies and direct subsidies to inputs and outputs. Since its introduction in the EU the CAP has gradually evolved and adapted to the changing needs of both agriculture and society as a whole. History of the CAP (1957-1980’s) The main objectives of this policy were as follow: To increase agricultural productivity by promoting technological advancements, ensuring optimum utilisation of …show more content…

The McSharry reform left the support regime for most other crops largely unchanged (O’Driscoll, 2001). Agenda 2000 was the next reform package introduced in 1999. The policy basically extended that McSharry reforms introducing further beef and cereal price cuts and increased direct payments (European Commission, 2007). The reform of the CAP in 2003 saw a significant change in the nature of agricultural support. There were a number of elements to the 2003 reform: Partial decoupling: this refers to the introduction of the ‘single-payment’ scheme to farmers. The payment is calculated by the amount of land employed in agricultural activity rather than the amount of land owned. Cross compliance: In order to receive payments farmers must meet certain conditions. This policy was introduced to improve environmental conditions, food safety and animal welfare. Modulation: A small reduction of about 5 percent in the level of single payments was proposed. The reduction aimed to use capital saved for improving rural development. Price floor cuts: price floor cuts first introduced in the McSharry report were extended to other commodities, such as butter and rice, in order to combat over production. (Scottish Executive, 2003). Summary References European Commission (2009) ‘“Health Check” of the Common Agricultural Policy’ [online] available: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/healthcheck/index_en.htm [accessed 20 March 2009].

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