Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-02-10-Speech-2-060"
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"en.20040210.3.2-060"2
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"Mr President, I welcome the work of the rapporteur in bringing this own-initiative report together. It strikes at the heart of the central question facing European agriculture at this crucial juncture, namely, whether the agricultural community can expect to make a fair living from its activities.
One of the report's most illustrative points is that, while agricultural incomes rose by 7% in the EU between 1995 and 2002, this was at the expense of a 15% decrease in the number of farms. That means that small farms have been swallowed up by increasingly large farms and production that has become more intensive. With consumers demanding more information on the means by which their food is produced, this trend is one that must be addressed. Large farms, selling bulk commodities, with pollution risks and herd health problems represent a future that we must work to avoid. Whilst the figures may continue to suggest that incomes are growing, they hide the impact of increasingly intensive farming methods. This must be borne in mind each time the European Parliament – and more importantly, the European Commission – consider direct aid via the CAP. There is something seriously amiss with a system that continues to pump money into the pockets of some of Europe's largest and wealthiest landowners through lavish subsidies. The Duke of Westminster – Britain's richest man – receives EUR 1300 per day in agricultural subsidies, while small Welsh farmers are struggling to get by with as little as EUR 7000 per year."@en1
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