What's the deal with the EU's Common Agricultural Policy

[zoidberg]

I read a post on another board blasting the Common Agricultural Policy. I've read that some are trying to reform it. What are the major issues here?

[friendofbenn]

1. basically

the eu subsidises its agricultural exports and dumps them in africa. the u.s does the same. the africans arent allowed to help out their farmers of course otherwhise they'll find that their aid budget has been slashed in half. basically the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. its the age old story

[zoidberg]

2. OK, that's the main critique I've heard, but why are they still there?

Are the farmers really that powerful politically that they can keep these subsidies going? Seems like a terrible waste of taxpayer's money as well as a terrible thing for Africa.

[rman]

3. it's not just in the interest of farmers

the dumbing of goods in africa, made possible because of these subsidies, prevents africa from becoming economically independant. that's not good for africa but it is good for 'the west'; global corporations, bankers, trade organisations.

the farmers are allies only because their livelyhood depends on these subsidies.

[cspiguy]

4. in France they are more powerful than the steel workers

sorta like UAW in detroit.

[aneerkoinos]

5. CAP is a mess

that only few eurobureaucrats and agrolobbers understand.

There are many different subsidies, production subsidies with quotas, enviromental subsidies, areal subsidies, EU and national subsidies, export subsidies...

Export subsidies should be got rid of right away, and there is willingness to do that if US dows the same.

More importantly EU is trying to address the overproduction issue by renowating the basis of CAP by moving from production based subsidies towards direct support for farmers. This revolution has been a moderate success, to the extent that was politically possible, but naturally developing countries would wan't more.

What is not understood in US and elsewhere, is that EU policy is not only about production of food (and selling it) but also about deep cultural values (latin word culture meant originally farming). We hold dear the value of keeping countryside inhabited (lot to do with pastorall idyll imagery of quality food consumers and tourists) also in areas where agriculture is economically not feasible (north, mountains, islands etc). It is for this reason that the main principles of CAP enjoy larger support than only farming population - there is a consensus, really -, and we accept subsidies in principle even if the details are often fucked up in many ways. US modell of industrialized food production is abomination to an average European consumer, even though there is lot of that also in Europe.

What comes to North-South agriculture, in EU and much more so in US, food is produced with oil (fertilizers, tractors, transport etc) and in south, especially in Africa, traditionall methods are still much in use. In EU oil is heavily taxed even for farmers but in US I believe it is in reality subsidized. This gives competing edge (unfair and immoral IMO) to US farmers against all rivals and is bigger issue than any other subsidy considering that Peak Oil is at hand.

[aneerkoinos]

6. Read also this:

The problem is not European ideal for agriculture but market fundamentalism appied to developing countries, says Thabo Mbeki:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,994218,00.html