Sir, - I refer to an article in your paper (May 2nd) headed Farmers overpaid £50 million a year Report".
The £50 million figure, which apparently emanated from an unpublished MAFF report, is with out foundation. Unfortunately for Irish grain growers, reports such as that from the British Agriculture Ministry only serves to undermine the Direct Area Aid Payments system which Irish grain growers are legitimately entitled to for reductions in price supports, as agreed in the CAP reform of 1992.
To put the £50 million per annum overcompensation claim into perspective, it needs to be pointed out that total direct payments to cereal growers in 1993 did not even reach that figure, and that was at a time when harvest prices decreased by about 10 per cent. Grain growers were thus fully entitled to direct payments and have been ever since. The present position is that prices are currently 35 per cent lower than preCAP reform. Prices to growers last harvest were at a 20 year low with growers receiving the same price in 1996 as they got in 1977. Eighty three thousand cereal farmers left the sector during this period, mainly because of low returns from cereal growing. It is quite clear from an examination of costs and returns that, only for direct income support, cereal growing in Ireland would not leave an economic return to the producer. - Yours etc.,
Chairman, National Grain
Committee,
The Irish Farmers
Association,
Bluebell,
Dublin 12.