Call for input cost support as Brussels unveils €1.4bn aid

The EU has proposed a €1.4bn (£1.2bn) support package to help EU farmers cope with rising agricultural input costs, triggering calls from industry for similar help for UK farmers.   

Prices of fuel, fertiliser and feed, have soared in Britain and Europe due to the Covid-19 pandemic, political upheaval and the Ukraine conflict.

Brussels had already stepped in with a €500m (£424m) aid package in March, to help sustain food production after the Ukraine war hit global food supplies.

But Brussels said it also recognised input cost rises were disrupting the agricultural sector and causing cashflow problems.

To tackle the issue the commission has proposed using the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) to provide emergency payments.

See also: Ag inflation soars past 30% in April to decades-high record

The money is normally earmarked for rural development projects, but 5%  – €1.4bn (£1.2bn) – would be siphoned off to make direct cash payments to farms instead.

Farms and agri-food businesses would receive between €15,000 (£12,750) and €100,000 (£85,000) as a one-off lump-sum payment. These payments would be made up to October 2023.

EU agriculture commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said farmers, supported by the CAP, had relentlessly proved their worth by producing food under difficult circumstances.

“After the Covid-19 pandemic, farmers are now being heavily hit by the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” Mr Wojciechowski said.

“For some, survival is at stake. With this measure, the latest in a series deployed under the CAP, we support them so they can keep producing the food the world needs, care for their land and provide for their families.”

‘Unprecedented costs’ – UFU

Speaking before the latest EU cash payout was announced, Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) president David Brown warned UK producers were seriously struggling with unprecedented inflationary costs.

“Over the past year, input prices for diesel, electricity, steel and concrete have doubled. Fertilisers, along with agri-chemicals, have tripled in price,” Mr Brown said.

The war in Ukraine had highlighted the importance of food security and demanded political priorities to change. If they don’t change, the UK will sleepwalk into a disaster on maintaining food supply, he added.

Governments in EU countries were stepping up and supporting their farmers and growers, and the government should do the same to help farmers struggling to pay for inputs this summer and autumn, said Mr Brown.

A Defra spokesperson said: “In England, we are no longer constrained by the Common Agricultural Policy and have already acted to bring forward 50% of the BPS payment to ease cashflow pressures.

“We have also announced measures to support farmers with the availability of fertilisers. We have no reason to believe that this move by the EU will affect the competitiveness of our farmers; they are simply playing catch up.”