EU reforms fruit and vegetable sector

Farmers and producers of fruit and vegetables in the European Union will no longer be eligible to EU funds according the quantity they produce, as the system is at present, but according to a new set of rules which include the size of land, the systems they use and the protection of the environment.

EU Agriculture Commissioner, Mariann Fisher Boel unveiled the Commission's plan to implement a wide-ranging reform in this sector to get the fruit and vegetable sector in line with the reformed Common Agricultural Policy, already approved by the EU.

According to the Commission's proposals, farmers who are members of a producer's organisation will be in a better position to reap the benefits of the EU's policy in this sector. This may be an eye-opener to Maltese farmers as the number of such organisations in Malta is still the lowest in the EU. In fact there are only two producers' organisations in Malta.

The Commission is proposing that there will be additional support in areas where production marketed via producer organisations is less than 20 per cent, and in the new member states, to encourage the creation of these organisations. At the same time, the current system of EU payments related to quantity of produce is to stop. Instead, the Commission is proposing a payments system based on agricultural land used.

The environment is also being given utmost importance in this reform. Farmers producing their products using organic systems will be eligible for added funding. At the same time one of every five euros received by farmers is to be spent on improving the environment.

Through its reform the EU wants also to improve its citizens' health. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one should consume at least 400 grams of fruit and vegetables a day. Currently this is not the case in the EU, except for the Greeks and Italians.

To promote a healthier lifestyle, the Commission is proposing that farmers will be eligible for funding if they organise promotional offers targeted at school-age children and adolescents. Market withdrawals can also be distributed for free to charitable organisations, schools and children's holiday camps with the EU footing out the bill.