European Commission to slash subsidies for megafarms

The European Commission announced a plan to reform EU agricultural subsidies. The plan would reduce subsidies for large-scale farms and direct the savings to increased support of smaller-scale farming.

At the present time, 20 percent of farmers receive 80 percent of subsidies under current rules. The plan also calls for increasing quota levels of certain items such as milk, to keep pace with increased demand, and elimination of milk quotas altogether by 2015.

The plan also calls for the release of unfarmed lands for biofuel production.  The Commission is preparing the new rules as the EU prepares for the effect of expansion of its membership to 27 nations.

Last month, Sega reported that the European Commission is planning to cut biofuels crop subsidies. The program of 45 euro per hectare subsidies was initiated when 310,000 hectares had been devoted to biofuels. In 2007, the figure has jumped to 2,840,000 hectares.

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