A portion of funding the European Union is hoping to spend on security and defence over the coming years should be “ringfenced” for the agriculture sector, Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Cowen has said.
The amount of funding set aside for Common Agricultural Policy (Cap) payments to farmers should be “significantly increased”, Mr Cowen said in a report published on Tuesday.
Mr Cowen, who sits on the European Parliament’s agriculture committee, said subsidies for farmers needed to be “safeguarded” during contentious negotiations to thrash out the EU’s next long-term budget.
Initial discussions about the size and composition of the EU’s next budget are taking place this year. The seven-year budget runs until 2027.
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The European Commission, the executive body that proposes and enforces EU laws, has been mulling changes to the huge funding pile.
Demands to direct more cash towards defence and security projects will be a feature of the negotiations. It is expected the amount of the budget set aside for EU payments to subsidise farmers will come under pressure in the talks.
In a report setting out his position, Mr Cowen said the recent push for the EU to spend more on its defence was necessary, to to prepare for a “worst-case scenario”.
However, the former Fianna Fáil minister said a connection between food production and Europe’s collective security was “being overlooked in the conversation”.
“A share of future security and defence spending must be ringfenced for European agriculture to support its strategic autonomy and the transition toward more innovative and technologically advanced practices,” he wrote.
“Securing a resilient agricultural sector and transitioning to more sustainable food systems demands a significantly increased Cap budget,” he said.
Mr Cowen said “excessive red tape” had discouraged farmers from participating in different EU-backed schemes. A revised EU agriculture policy should take a more “simplified” approach that does not put as much administrative burden on farmers applying for subsidies, noted the report.
Farms that adopted new technology, such as using methane inhibitors, should be rewarded for doing so, he said. Smaller, less productive farmers could be helped pivot towards organic farming, or efforts to reverse biodiversity loss.
The lack of young farmers willing to replace those retiring from the sector was an “existential threat to food security” and rural communities, the Midlands-North-West MEP said.
More needed to be done to encourage this cohort to commit to a career in farming, he said. “Support should also extend beyond just income support. Access to land, finance, tax exemptions and incentives and training are also essential,” he said.
Food processors, retailers and banks needed to do more to support young farmers who were trying to break into the industry, he said.
