Making sure that the CAP works

The changes seen in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) over recent years have followed a change in European consumers’ tastes and preferences. Gone are the days when, following the Second World War, the food supply in Europe had to be secured and therefore production boosted. Major reforms of the CAP, in 1992, 1999 and 2003, have put a greater focus on consumer demands and quality production.

These reforms sought to cut the links between subsidies paid to farmers for particular production towards a "single farm payment" paid on the basis of respect for the environment, food safety and animal welfare. "The reforms were about getting rid of the link between subsidies and production and moving towards producing what the market wants," says Michael Mann, spokesman for Mariann Fischer Boel, the European commissioner for agriculture.

The implications of these reforms, coupled with other developments in agriculture policy in the next five to ten years, are expected to be huge.

There has been a shift towards establishing the identity of farm produce, with a particular emphasis on its origin and its quality. Concern about food safety has been a major impulse towards tightening rules on labelling and traceability so that consumers and retailers can be satisfied about where a product is sourced. In the event of a health scare which might necessitate a product recall, the produce can quickly be traced and isolated. But labelling is also about trading on the strengths of EU farming: developing a market for quality products. The EU is seeking to protect produce that is traditionally specific to a region, so preventing competitors from selling their imitations under the same name.

An area of growing concern for consumers has been animal welfare and the EU has moved to ensure that food is produced in ways that minimise suffering. Standards and conditions for the cages that chickens are kept in for laying eggs have been targeted for 2013 under a 1999 directive. A directive is also being drafted on broiler chickens which would raise standards for poultry grown for meat. The EU has already legislated on the conditions for pigs. The rules on the conditions under which live animals can be transported have progressively been tightened.

EU farm and food policy has also been adapted to take greater account of the nutritional value of food and the effect that food production has on the environment.

Cumulatively, these reforms have changed the way farmers view the food they produce. "Farmers are focusing now on how to make better returns from the market rather than calculating the best subsidy combination. In an environment where more consumers are looking for higher quality and how their food is linked up to the environment, animal welfare and safety, those attributes have an increasing value," said Fischer Boel in a speech in September.

The effect of the changes means that some foods will no longer be produced in Europe in great quantities. Recent sugar reforms have already closed some sugar-beet factories in the EU and more closures are expected to follow. Other industries, such as butter production and beef, are also expected to see a fall. Reforms proposed in the wine, banana and fruit and vegetable markets will similarly reduce total production but should also improve quality.

"It goes back to the quality/product issue. Europe is the richest market in the world and it is able to supply what the market wants," says Brian Gardner, a food and agriculture policy consultant. "Overall there will be a reduction in production but the move is towards more quality."

Gardner says the changes do not present a problem for food security. "There is about 15% of arable land which is under the ‘set-aside’ scheme which could be brought back into production."

Jim Murray, director of BEUC, the European consumers’ group, says agricultural and nutrition policy also needs to take account of reaching consumers and avoid "food deserts" where people without cars cannot reach high quality nutritional food. "There is a need to increase…distribution and get fresh fruit and vegetables out to people. The main incentives up to now have been in food high in fat such as dairy and some cereals. A focus on diet would need to look at the whole distribution issue."

The European Commission says "health-checks" will be carried out on the CAP reforms in 2008 to ensure the changes are going in the right direction. "Our overall aim will not be a fundamental change of direction; rather, we want to make sure that the CAP is working as it should," said Fischer Boel recently, hinting that the review could have further implications for food policy. "We should also take a look at several individual market sectors. For example, does butter intervention in its current form really give sustainable help to the dairy sector? And does cereals intervention as it is currently organised help to keep the cereals sector in good shape, or does it too often become the sale outlet of first choice for some producers?" she added.

The changes seen in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) over recent years have followed a change in European consumers’ tastes and preferences. Gone are the days when, following the Second World War, the food supply in Europe had to be secured and therefore production boosted. Major reforms of the CAP, in 1992, 1999 and 2003, have put a greater focus on consumer demands and quality production.