Funferal

Agriculture subsidies decoupled from production

The Irish government is becoming the first in the EU to decouple agricultural subsidies from production. The Labour Party, through spokesperson Mary Upton, has welcomed the move:

“From the outset, the Labour Party has fully supported the move towards full decoupling, arguing that it represented to best way forward for Irish agriculture. I welcome the fact that most farm organisations now subscribe to this view and I urge Minister Walsh to ease the path for farmers who are anxious about the transition to decoupling.

While the move makes sense – and reduces the attraction of over-production for farmers, thus reducing the probability of product-dumping in other countries, I am concerned that subsidies are being linked to production at this point in time. It will be interesting to see whether payments move, over time, to be more closely linked to the environmental guardianship role of farmers….