Public money for public goods; all-inclusive farming for healthy, ecological, caring and fair food-products
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the EU policy for food, farming and development of rural area’s. The actual CAP has two pilars: 1. Direct payments, 2. Rural development.
Agriculture is part of the market economy. If the market functions well, there is no need for a government to interfere with subsidies. Therefore the system of direct payments for production as such is out-dated. OPTA has the vision that public money of the CAP should be totally invested in farmers that deliver all-inclusive farming for healthy, ecological, caring and fair products. public goods. With the investment in public goods, we secure our farming and foodsystem for future generations and reduce costs for climate change, biodiversity, water quality and soil fertility.
Organic farmers show the success to contribute to a caring agriculture by delivering public goods, like:
- Production of healthy food
- Good quality of water and air
- Improvement of biodiversity
- Sustainable use of soil
- Positive contribution to reduce climate change and better adaptions to climate change
- Positive contribution to a varied landscape
- New employment possibilities in rural areas
Organic farming as a system deserves the acknolodgement of a Green-by-Nature definition in the new CAP, as is already the case in the existing CAP.
To enforce the public money for public goods approach a new dash-board has to be implemented that shows and further stimulates the public added value approach in relation to climate, biodiversity, water- and airquality to start with.
Conclusion
– The flat rate for hectares in pilar one should be totally transferred to public services that agriculture
can deliver.
– All CAP payments are related to clear public goals that can be scientifically demonstrated
– Compliance with organic regulation is an automatric compliance with the public goals and is an
evidence for CAP payments after 2020.
– Non-agricultural producers are not counted for finacial support from CAP (farmers only principle)
OPTA is the international association for organic trade and processing. Most OPTA members are strongly related to organic farmers and fully depending on the high quality that organic farming is delivering. OPTA has the vision that the farming system in 2050 should be 100% organic farming to keep this planet available for our children. At this moment organic products are higher in price because the farmers deliver public goods that are taken up in the price of the products. The higher price makes it for average consumer more difficult to choose the product he prefers. When the unequal competition between non-inclusive farming and inclusive organic farming has been taken away, organic agriculture will be preferred by a vast of majority of EU citizens.