European farmers and growers are facing a ‘dire’ cashflow crisis caused by Covid-19, a poor harvest season, low prices and increasing bureaucracy and red tape, according to farming union groups Copa and Cogeca.
According to the organisation, even for major crops such as wheat and oilseed rape, at current market prices producers cannot cover production costs and farms are increasingly facing cash-flow difficulties. As a result, indigenous European food production is decreasing.
Jean-François Isambert, chair of the co-op’s cereals working party said, “It is essential to address these issues by providing efficient risk management tools and ensuring that at least 60% of first pillar payments are allocated to CAP basic payments. If farmers aren’t provided with the necessary funds to buy cereal seed and quality inputs, the EU’s cereal balance could be impacted even further, increasing the pressure on available supply.”
Copa and Cogeca chair, Pedro Gallardo, added, “It is indispensable that we rethink the European approach to approving plant protection products if we want to avoid producers of oilseeds and protein crops abandoning a crop that is a pivotal element of their crop rotation system.”
Photo source: Copa and Cogeca