The CAP deal across the UK: looking back and looking forward

While 2014 maintained its alliterative high with Monday's fracking announcement (following debates about offsetting, flooding, food and farming), I want to offer a flashback to events at the end of 2013. 

If you remember, in December, the UK Government and devolved administrations had the chance to bolster progressive widllife-friendly farming by moving up to 15% of direct farm subsidies (in the so-called Pillar 1 of the Common Agriculture Policy) to support rural development programmes (Pillar II of the CAP which finances agri-environment and which delivers the best value for taxpayers' money).  

While the amount of money at stake varied across the UK, we had urged all administrations to transfer the maximum amount to help address international and national commitments to recovering farmland wildlife and protecting water bodies.  It was clear that decisions made would have a massive consequence of the future of our countryside for years to come.  

And this is what they decided...

Wales: 15%

England: 12% with a commitment to move to 15% in 2017/8

Scotland: 9.5%

Northern Ireland: 0%

You can get a sense of the different moods across the UK by reading our press releases.  In Wales (here), there was joy, in England (here) and Scotland (here) there was dismay, while in Northern Ireland (here) there was, quite rightly, outrage.  

Peter Kendall, the outgoing President of the NFU, has at times been the Moriarty to the RSPB's Sherlock Holmes.  He has been an impressive operator but he has occasionally said some very silly things and he saved the silliest for his final speech at the Oxford Farming Conference last week (see here).  Having started with a disingenuous swipe at the RSPB, he had the nerve to argue that creating Pillar II was a mistake and would make "farmers permanently dependent on public support".   I think some in the audience choked on their hobnobs.

The facts speak for themselves - for England, for example, only £3.5 billion of the £15 billion of subsidies going to farmers over the next seven years will support Pillar II measures: agri-environment and rural development.  Put it another way - only £93 of £400 of the annual taxpayers' contribution to the CAP will support things which benefit the public such as an attractive countryside rich in wildlife to which people have access.

But, having led the lobby against transfering money into agri-environment schemes, the NFU and their counterparts across the UK, let down those farmers that wanted to continue to farm progressively.  

I had a number of conversations with farmers last week who were fearful for the future of their farms.  These were farmers who were proud of what they had been able to do for wildlife thanks to financial support offered through agri-environment schemes.  Yet, when theses schemes come to an end, there is no guarantee that the money will be available to allow them to continue to manage their land with wildlife in mind.  For some, they may have to follow a different path to maintain viable farm businesses.  While this would ultimately be a business decision, I know that some would find this heartbreaking and it would, of course, be devastating for wildlife on their farms.

So, what to do?

Five things:

- in England, Scotland and Wales, we will work with officials to make sure the new agri-environment schemes (funded through Pillar II) work hard for wildlife.  We now have 20 years of experience of using these schemes and we know what makes them work.  I am confident that we can still get great results for wildlife through well-designed and well-targeted schemes and we will continue to do what we can to ensure farmers receive the advice they need.

- in Northern Ireland, we will continue to urge the NI Executive to provide the funds to protect the environment and recover threatened wildlife.  The CAP cupboard is bare, so they will have to look elsewhere.

- we need more food companies to source their ingredients from and reward farmers that manage their land for wildlife (confirmed through certification schemes such as Conservation Grade - see here).  

- explore innovative ways of rewarding farmers for protecting and restoring those services that nature gives us for free: for example flood protection, carbon storage and clean water while penalising those that use these services unsustainably

- from now, develop an irresistible force for change in the next round of CAP reform through building a wide-ranging coalition of NGOs and farmers who value nature both here and across Europe.  Our High Nature Value Farming coalition (see here) is just the start.

But, you may have other ideas.

What else do you think we should be doing to help farmland wildlife and progressive farming?

It would be great to hear your views.

[Image shows Andy Hay's image of small scale trials of potential solutions to farmland bird decline before use in larger scale research trials or agri-environment scheme options, RSPB Hope Farm, Cambridgeshire, England, July 2012]