EU plans fruit and veg aid overhaul

(BRUSSELS) - The European Commission unveiled plans on Wednesday to update its aid scheme for fruit and vegetable farmers but said their best hope was to persuade consumers to eat more fresh produce.

Along with wine, fruit and vegetable producers escaped a 2002 shake-up of the European Union's agriculture aid, which broke the link between the volume of other farmers' production and the amount of subsidies they get.

However, EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said the time had now come for reform of the fruit and vegetable sector and that farm subsidies should no longer depend on how much farmers grow.

"There is an urgent need in this sector for changes," Fischer Boel told journalists, adding: "It's not about cutting the budget for the fruit and vegetable sector, it's simply a question of spending the money in a more sensible way."

The overhauled aid scheme would give new focus to producer organisations, helping deal with bad harvests, reducing the impact of farming on the environment and stepping up promotion among consumers.

"We now need to redouble our efforts to try to stimulate the consumption of fruit and vegetables," Fischer Boel said.

In particular, she announced plans to increase funds to encourage children to eat more fruit and vegetables and possibly even distribute produce for free to schools, hospitals and charities.

"I think that it's possible with such action to stimulate interest among young people for eating fruit and vegetable to give them good habits that might follow them later in their lives," Fischer Boel said.

European fruit and vegetable farmers have come under increasing pressure in recent years because of the growing influence of discount retailers, which demand low prices from producers, and rising competition from outside the EU.

The European Union has 1.4 million farmers who produce fruit and vegetable, with 660,000 specialised growers. Italy and Spain are the biggest producers followed by France and Portugal.

Fruit and vegetable aid swallows 3.1 percent of the EU agriculture budget and accounts for 17 percent of total EU agricultural production.

The Commission hopes the plans will receive the necessary approval of the European parliament and member states by the middle of this year in order for them to be able to come into effect in 2008.