          |
Common Agriculture Policy |
Common Agriculture Policy
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) represents an enormous public investment in agriculture and rural areas: €55 billion, or 42 per cent of the total 2008 EU budget, is spent on supporting farming, mostly through direct payments to farmers and landowners. Over the last few decades, CAP subsidies, coupled with the availability of cheap fossil fuels and technological advances, have encouraged a massive intensification of European farming. More chemical inputs are used, such as fertilisers and pesticides, many landscape features have been lost, and mixed farming systems (farms which grow crops and raise livestock) have become much less common. This intensification has had a serious and negative impact on farmland wildlife: bird species such as the tree sparrow, corn bunting, grey partridge and turtle dove are facing unprecedented dramatic population declines. intensification has had a serious and negative impact on farmland wildlife The 2003 Fischler reforms introduced the important principle of decoupling subsidy from production, switching off over-production and freeing farmers from chasing subsidies However, farmers' entitlements are still mainly calculated based on past production levels and therefore channel support to the most intensive commercial farms whilst overlooking extensive, wildlife-friendly farming systems. The 2003 CAP reform also introduced cross-compliance, whereby farmers must meet minimum environmental, animal welfare and safety standards in order to receive their payments. However, these standards are fairly undemanding and are poorly enforced, providing limited benefits for the environment and wildlife, despite the huge amount of EU taxpayers' money being spent. The Rural Development Policy (RDP), the 'second pillar' of the CAP, represents a much better use of taxpayers' money but at the moment only accounts for 37 per cent of CAP spending. Rural development addresses a range of broad objectives, such as environment protection, economic competitiveness, job creation and quality of life in rural areas. Four Rural Development Programmes (RDPs) cover the UK countries. RDPs include measures, such as agri-environment payments, which are crucial to help farmers addressing biodiversity decline. The RSPB believes that protecting farmland wildlife and traditional European landscapes, along with conserving the natural resources to ensure a long-term food supply, should become the core objectives of CAP policies. Working with BirdLife partner organisations, the RSPB advocates this policy change to EU governments and pushes for the funding needed to implement it. Last modified: 22 June 2009 |
In more depthDownloads
|
Insect on dewy ears of barley - Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)
Herd of cows, West Sedgemoor RSPB reserve - David Kjaer (rspb-images.com, Ref: D_2006_11413_0029)
Archie Carmichael (L, on tractor) & Gus Keys (R = site manager) in farm yard at Kinnabus. Mull of Oa RSPB reserve. Islay - Andy Hay (rspb-images.com, Ref: D_2005_9857_009)
Bird illustrations by Mike Langman (RSPB)