The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
CLARE farmers who received €100,000 in Pillar One payments under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are facing a possible cut of €34,000 following agreement on a new CAP deal. It looks as if direct payments under Pillar One will be effectively capped at €66,000 on a phased basis from 2023 onwards. According to figures obtained by The Clare Champion, CAP payments totalling €84.67 million were paid to 6,254 Clare farmers from October 16, 2019 to October 15, 2020. This included a payment of €1.88 million to Clare LEADER for rural development. ICSA secretary, Eddie Punch, expressed concern that Clare farmers are being asked to do more and more for less money. He said the main objective of CAP was to compensate farmers for providing cheaper food to consumers. In relative terms, he pointed out consumers are paying much less for their food when compared with their take-home pay now than 30 years ago. He outlined the price paid to farmers …
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