Farm-subsidies

[THR]

What do you think about the farming-subsidies? Do you share my opinion that they have become an end in itself rather than the original purpose? More than half of the EU-budget consists of farming-subsidies.

Finland receives special subsidies for its northern farming, which is crazy in the first place, but Finland is looking at losing the farming-subsidies for the south of the country where the circumstances for farming are the best.

The continuation of the 141-subsidies as the South-Finland subsidies are called threatens a very serious government-crisis in this country.

The very idea of CAP is flawed. In an ideal world all farm-subsidies should be abolished except perhaps for the 3rd world countries but unfortunately that is not a realistic approach.

The EU has made things far worse. The very fact that Finnish taxpayers support the French or the Spanish growers is simply absurd. With the expansion of the EU, the ineffective eastern-European agriculture will suck more money than in a sensibly run system would be necessary.

Many farmers I´ve spoken to in both Finland and in Cambridgeshire in England have said that filling in and out silly forms for the EU has taken more and more of their time in the recent years.I think a farmer should be an enterpreneur like anyone else with the risks of going bust involved.

[Eddiepops]

Moved to economy, for want of a better home

[Wolverine]

Subsidies for overproduction, no.

Support for taking care of the countryside - yes.

The problem in this country is that we haven't had a decent debate on what our agricultural sector is for and what we want to do with our countryside. As a result we have overproduction on one hand and stagnation of farm incomes on the other.

A much better idea would be to formulate a holistic approach to the countryside and devise a strategy to support farmers as land managers, not just farmers.

Under the current system the most valuable crop a farmer could grow is a one-off house, and who could blame them when incomes are so ************************e? Better an agreed strategy than the piecemeal crapola that we're all living under now.

[Auditor #9]

Subsidies for overproduction, no.

Support for taking care of the countryside - yes.

The problem in this country is that we haven't had a decent debate on what our agricultural sector is for and what we want to do with our countryside. As a result we have overproduction on one hand and stagnation of farm incomes on the other.

A much better idea would be to formulate a holistic approach to the countryside and devise a strategy to support farmers as land managers, not just farmers.

Under the current system the most valuable crop a farmer could grow is a one-off house, and who could blame them when incomes are so ************************e? Better an agreed strategy than the piecemeal crapola that we're all living under now.

Good post Wolverine. Our country is really underutilised in terms of recreation. It could be goldmined but at present it might as well be landmined.

[irishpeoplearewhingers]

I'd cut them out...give them a few years to adjust and a few extra quid.....then leave them to it.....but I would want to see the money spent on Education, Infrastructure and R&D....you know, productive things......

[THR]

Exactly as the above poster said. It should be matter of each individual country to decide how much it wants to spend its own money to support its own agriculture but the EU-wide farm-subsidies in which the northern countries support the farming of the southern countries is sick to the root.

Farmers should be like entrepreneurs who run a business and there is the risk of that business going bust.

[wombat]

Farmers should be like entrepreneurs who run a business and there is the risk of that business going bust.

Food production is more complicated. The origins of European farm subsidies are the historical shortages after WW2. There are signs that too much land in Europe has been taken out of production. Beef production in Sth America is in the hands of corporations who will expand their control to distribution in Europe if European farmers are put out of business. Food is too important to be left to a free market, do you want food production to be run on the same lines as water distribution in the U.K?

[Ronanr]

Food production is more complicated. The origins of European farm subsidies are the historical shortages after WW2.

I agree. I think a lot of the anti-CAP people do not appreciate the dangers of Europe being at the mercy of the international free market in terms of food production. Just because it has not been a problem in Europe since about 1949 does not mean that it couldn't be a problem in the future.

Since decoupling, the amount of grain grown in Europe has dropped.

"Great!", you might think, "at least we will not have a grain mountain any more."

However, we have also seen corn prices rise by 40% recently.

I know people will say that European farmers will respond by putting more land under cultivation, however, given the capital costs of agriculture nowadays, the industry might be less able to respond than people are assuming.

[beardyboy]

The farmer should be able to produce whatever he wants and the subsidies which distort the agricultural industry should be abandoned.

Foreign foods should meet the same stringent tests as our home food producers have to meet, they should be tested on arrival and rejected if any traces of banned chemicals.

The producers must also be able to produce traceability records to the same standard as our farmers and be willing to be inspected by our agricultural departments if they wish to export to us.

In short - stringent control on quality of both home and foreign produced foods in order to have a level playing field for our farmers and freedom for our farmers to produce whatever they want