§ 12. Mr. YeoTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the impact on the income of United Kingdom farmers of the adoption of Agenda 2000 proposals. [12621]
Dr. John CunninghamIt is likely that the immediate result of the Commission Agenda 2000 proposals for reform of the arable, beef and dairy sectors would be a reduction in total income from farming in the UK in the order of 2 per cent. of 1996 levels. Because proposals relating to modulation are unclear, this estimate assumes changes are applied on an unmodulated basis.
§ 15. Mr. ToddTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the European Commission Agenda 2000 document on agriculture; and if he will make a statement. [12624]
Dr. John CunninghamThe Agenda 2000 proposals are a welcome step towards positive reform of the CAP. However there are areas, for example milk, where the proposals do not go far enough. We will be looking to make progress on discussion of these during the UK Presidency of the Agriculture Council.