Sir, – The trouble with all of the previous CAP reforms since the 1990s is that by the time change is implemented, it is years out of date.

At this juncture in the next process of reform it should be obvious to all, including politicians, that an escalating world population, if not climate change, points to the single objective of the need for an increase in food production in the temperate zones.

This has application for northern Europe if the forecasts for more droughts in the southern regions comes to be. This cannot be accomplished in a short time frame. Planning and incentivisation need to start now.

In the last 10 years, the balance between agriculture and environmentalism has wavered according to whichever monetary compensatory system was in vogue. Hill and upland pastures have been sacrificed by a lack of encouragement (in some places positive discouragement) for livestock production coupled with an artificial so called ‘protection’ of this environment which, for centuries thrived because of livestock husbandry.