With Common Agricultural Policy reform negotiations reaching their climax in Luxembourg, Lord Haskins said: 'What stands between [us and] an agreement is President Chirac and whether France accepts the principle of de-coupling. The sooner the French realise that something has to be done, the sooner matters will move ahead.' Haskins admitted that although many in Europe are anxious about the implications of CAP reform, others are concerned about the effects of enlargement.

'With 10 countries joining the EU, there are uncertainties about how this will work in practice. Poland, for instance has poor levels of infrastructure and investment and in the short term may well suffer.' Haskins reassured growers that food will remain of strategic importance to the government. 'SThere are concerns such as food safety and a growing environmental concern. In my view, the progress farmers have made towards environmental progress has been huge. Practices in the last 20 years especially, have been transformed.' Serious concerns of rural depopulation were also an issue, said Haskins, especially in France (a problem reflected in the French position on CAP reforms).

How European farmers will cope in an unprotected relatively free market will be interesting although good soil, and good farm structures would enable producers to compete.

Issues surrounding food safety should be seen as an opportunity and not a threat, Hoskins added: 'European farmers have a lot of consumers who are interested in the safety of perishable food and, since there is already expertise in this area, that can be of benefit. Producers can also boost productivity by greater co-operation, the sharing of operational assets and by collective marketing.

'European farming can also improve competitiveness by the responsible application of science. If GM technology takes off everywhere else in the world then we would be at a disadvantage, so we need to campaign for choice,' he added.

'Above all, farmers must be adaptable. There has been a huge growth in rural tourism and the benefits of the internet have only been seen superficially so far. I worry about the potential of the organic market to grow substantially further and in reality the shelf space for organic produce has undoubtedly declined. Labour shortages are a threat to production, as is the cost of labour. And a sensible dialogue between farmers and environmentalists would also be good progress.' As producers across the globe grapple with the effects of recession Haskins concluded that ultimately the issue lies between Chirac and Bush. 'If radical, the reforms will take a long time to implement,' he said. 'If not radical then they're irrelevant.

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