CAP reforms slammed again
UK - The latest reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy have come under heavy criticism by a former chief economist at the NFU.TheGuardian reports Séan Rickard - now a lecturer in agricultural economics at Cranfield University - as being heavily damning of the latest reforms on a number of counts.
"Just how much of the claimed environmental benefits produced by farmers would be delivered anyway if the single farm payment was phased out?" asks Mr Rickard.
He points out that 20% of the UK's CAP claimants farm about two-thirds of the agricultural land area.
"The evidence is clear. These larger scale farms are less damaging to the environment than their smaller counterparts," he said.
"The reason is straight forward. In order to grow and prosper, a farm has to be managed to very high standards and it is the management skill of the farmer, not the size of the farm, that is critical to the delivery of higher environmental standards."
Source: FWi