POs ‘should attract’ growers, says MEP

A West Midlands MEP has urged the EU to simplify the process of joining a Producer Organisation (PO) and make them more attractive to UK growers.

Anthea McIntyre, a conservative MP for Herefordshire and member of the EU agriculture committee, was speaking after a report on the implementation of producer organisations since the 2007 reform.

The UK is one of only two member states that have a declining trend in the number of POs, while fewer than half of all EU growers belong to a PO, the report found.

“Growers in the UK want a scheme that is more effective and adaptive to real market conditions,” she said. “First, a more attractive scheme. We need to move away from concentration of supply and marketing as the main activity of the scheme. They should remain as objectives, but not be the sole focus of the scheme. We have to be careful that the production support element doesn’t lead to over production. Production should be market-led.”

McIntyre said the EU should reduce the administrative burdens of POs by getting rid of mid-term evaluations, instead using annual reports to track progress.

“I also believe that POs should be able to adapt their Operational Programmes to suit their level of maturity. While it is relatively easy for new POs to choose activities that meet the requirements set out in National Strategies, it becomes increasingly difficult for long-standing POs to achieve new environmental actions,' she said.

She added that PO rules should be more attuned to “the real world” and be clearly stated to prevent subjective interpretation of rules.

“To be attractive, we need a scheme that is more effective and more adaptive to market conditions. We need a scheme that is cheaper to administer, both for POs and Paying Agencies. We need legal certainty, resulting in lower error rates, less disallowance and fewer de-recognitions,” she said.

The report said that PO reform has increased the share of the total value of EU fruit and vegetable production marketed by POs, but it has yet to achieve its full potential.

Speaking exclusively to FPJ in last week’s issue, British Growers Association chief executive, Jack Ward, said he would look to develop POs in the UK in order to draw down more EU funding for UK growers.