Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

Concrete proposals have yet to emerge on the shape of EU agriculture policy beyond 2013. Among the ideas emerging are demands from some member states for a lower budget share for agriculture and for eventual dismantling of CAP; demands from new member states for re-balancing of member states' shares of agricultural funding; increased calls for changes to the single payment system to move from the historic model and to apply a "flatter" model of direct payments; calls for a greater focus on pillar 2, the rural development measures, and introduction of more specific selection criteria and indicators to measure the effectiveness, outputs and impacts of rural development programmes; and continuing pressures to reduce supply and market management mechanisms with a greater reliance on crisis management.

The Minister's, Deputy Smith's view, which he has expressed at meetings of the Council and bilaterally to his ministerial colleagues, is that we must maintain a strong agricultural production base in the European Union in the future to take account of the challenges ahead in meeting increased demands for locally produced food. Any reduction in food production in the EU would be taken up elsewhere where less efficient production systems exist and would result in a heavier carbon footprint. We must also undertake food production and distribution in a manner that is sustainable in all its dimensions — economically, socially and environmentally, especially with limited energy supplies in mind.

There will be major challenges ahead from climate change, increased competition on world and EU markets, the financial crunch and other factors. We must ensure we have the capacity to cope with the challenges and fully exploit the opportunities as they emerge. To do so our whole sector, from farm to fork, must be highly efficient and competitive. It must also be innovative, producing the products that changing consumer tastes demand, and it must be relentlessly focused on quality and safety. To achieve these objectives, there is a continuing need for an active and appropriately resourced European agricultural policy. That policy needs to recognise the role that a cohesive agriculture and rural development policy can play in addressing future energy needs, addressing environmental concerns and providing a secure and sustainable food supply in Europe.

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With this is mind, and to meet all challenges to the sector in the coming decade, it is the Minister's job to continue to plan to help the sector remain competitive so that it can capitalise on the inevitable global recovery and meet the challenges in the coming decade. Addressing the industry's capacity to compete successfully at home and overseas has assumed a new urgency and the Minister's belief is that a new development plan for the period to 2020 is required to maintain the impetus gained from the very successful agri-vision 2015 strategy. Preparatory work has already started on this plan which is focusing on the critical issue of competitiveness, the challenges from the global economic downturn, currency fluctuations, climate change and how best to maximise the opportunities arising from a growing international food and energy crop markets.

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