The changes agreed in 2003 brought about a major simplification of the way farm subsidies are paid to farmers, reducing the number of subsidy schemes to one, which is known as the Single Payment Scheme. Farmers are no longer paid subsidies based on what they produce but are paid an area payment based on the number of hectares farmed. This is known as “decoupling” subsidies from production.
Reform of the CAP will offer farmers the opportunity of producing what the market and consumers want, rather than producing what is required to obtain the subsidy. The full impact of the changes on the region’s agriculture sector will not be apparent for sometime as farmers quite rightly will take time to reflect on the needs and future direction of their business.
England has been split in to three distinct regions that will attract differing levels of Single Farm Payment.
The North West contains elements of all three, which are:
· the English moorland within the upland Severely Disadvantaged Areas (SDA)
· other English upland SDA,
· England outside the upland SDA.
Seriously Disadvantaged Areas form part of the Less Favoured Areas, which were designated when Britain joined the European Economic Community, in 1975. They were established as a means of providing aid specifically to the socially and economically disadvantaged areas in the UK uplands. In the North West, the majority of Cumbria and parts of Lancashire are designated as Less Favourable Areas. The Seriously Disadvantaged Areas are designated at European Union member state level.
Future reform
In spite of recent changes to the CAP there is momentum for further reform as the CAP remains the most visible and expensive common policy of the EU. Also the need to respond to the challenges of globalisation is likely to accelerate the pressure for further reform in the coming years
