CAP AND CYPRUS EXPERIENCE

BY MARIA SAVVA MONICA MATHEOU AND CHRISTINA PETRIDOU

 The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a system of European Union agriculture subsides and programs.

 The CAP combines a direct subsidy payment for crops and land.

 The aim of the CAP is to provide farmers with a reasonable standard of living.

 By 2013, the share of traditional CAP spending is projected to decrease significantly to 32%

 The CAP has been substantially reformed from the creation of the Treaty of Rome (1957) Results of the reforms movement of the CAP away from a production-oriented policy (2003) Introduction of the Single Farm Payment (SFP).

    Single Farm Payment (SFP) Each country can choose if the payment will be established at the farm level or at the regional level.

Some standards: Farmers can produce any commodity on their land except fruit, vegetables and table potatoes, they are obliged to keep their land in good agricultural and environmental condition, they have to respect the environment, food safety, phytosanitary and animal welfare standards.

If farmers do not respect these standards, their payment will be reduced.

 This developmental approach is evident throughout the Rural Development Program 2007-2013, which was approved by the European Commission, on October, 2007.

The objectives of the Rural Development Program 2007-2013 are defined in the following five axis of priority which include various measures: Priority axis 1 - Improving the competitiveness of the agricultural and forestry sector Priority axis 2 - Improving of the environment and the countryside Priority axis 3 - The quality of life in rural areas and diversification of the rural economy Priority axis 4 – Leader Priority axis 5 – Technical support

Article 39 of The Treaty of Rome: a) b) c) d) e) to increase productivity, by promoting technical progress and ensuring the optimum use of the factors of production, in particular labor to ensure a fair standard of living for the agricultural Community to stabilize markets to secure availability of supplies to provide consumers with food at reasonable prices  The CAP take account of the social structure of agriculture and of the disparities (structural and natural) between the agricultural regions and to effect the appropriate adjustments by degrees.

 CAP (system of measures) works by maintaining commodity price levels within the EU and by subsidizing production.

   The "second pillar" of the CAP Aims: to stir the economic, social and environmental development in the countryside.

Its budget is today allocated along three main areas, known as axis: 1) improvement of the competitiveness of the farm and forestry sector through support for restructuring, development and innovation 2) improvement of the environment and the countryside through support for land management as well as helping to fight climate change. (concern preserving water quality, sustainable land management, planting trees to prevent erosion and floods) 3) improvement of the quality of life in rural areas and encouraging diversification of economic activity

    The policy also provides support to the Leader rural development methodology.

Member States distribute "second pillar" funds through Rural Development Program actions.

The European Commission is now discussing the next reform of the CAP which will coincide with the next financial perspectives package (2014).

Seven major challenges which the future CAP needs to address: food production, globalization, the environment, economic issues, a territorial approach, diversity and simplification.

 Cyprus became an Independent Republic in 1960 and is a member of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Commonwealth and the Non-Aligned Movement.  In 1974 Turkey invaded Cyprus, occupying nearly the 40% of the country’s territory.

 The period from 1975 until today is characterized by an enormous effort for economic and social development.  On the 1st May 2004 the Republic of Cyprus became a member of the European Union (EU).

Categories:     Water resources Crops Livestock and poultry Fishing and forestry

  The most important project regarding water resources, and the largest development project in Cyprus since independence (1960), was the Southern Conveyor Project.

When the project reached completion in 1993, it, and a number of other large projects, would guarantee farmers and the inhabitants of Nicosia and other towns adequate amounts of water into the next century.

 Crop production was by far the most important component of agriculture.

Market vegetables grew in many areas around the island. The potato was the most important of these crops, far outstripping tomatoes, carrots, water and sweet melons, cucumbers, and others in both weight and value. In fact, the potato was the most important agricultural product in the late 1980s, during which more than 80 percent of its production was exported.

 Livestock products, including poultry and milk, made up a significant part of the gross output by value of the agricultural sector.

 During the 1980s, livestock production roughly doubled, as a result of subsidies, strict import regulations, and government-sponsored research that improved both the quality of livestock and its management.

 Although Greek Cypriots had become self-sufficient with regard to pork and poultry, it was necessary to import beef, veal, and mutton to meet domestic needs. Specialists believed that the gradual lifting of import restrictions, as required by the EEC Customs Union Agreement, would put many inefficient breeders of livestock out of business.

   The Turkish invasion resulted in the loss of some of the better fishing areas. By the second half of the 1980s, loans and subsidies from the Department of Fisheries had secured the existence of a fishing fleet of several hundred small vessels, and annual catches exceeded those preceding 1974. In 1989 the catch totaled 2,600 tons at live weight.

The 1980s also saw saltwater and freshwater fish farms come into operation. Much of their production was exported. An experimental fish farm was scheduled to open in the 1990s at Meneou, near Larnaca.

Nearly all of the south's forests were owned by the state, which had long managed an active and sophisticated program for their care and improvement. The Turkish invasion of 1974 damaged the island's forests extensively, but by the 1980s reforestation projects had repaired much of the harm.

   The Commission has put forward its legislative proposals on the 12 October 2011.

The approval of the different regulations and implementing acts is expected by the end of 2013.

The CAP reform could come into force as from 1 January 2014.

 European Parliament and the Council will decide on an equal footing on the new agriculture legislative package.

 The Lisbon Treaty (1 December 2009) has extended the legislative powers of the EP.

 On Agricultural matters, the European Parliament decides together with the Council in a procedure known as the co decision procedure.