March 19, 2009
EU on track to trim farm subsidy administrative costs by 25 percent
The European Union is on track to trim the administrative burden of its farm subsidies programme 25 percent by 2012, the European Commission said Wednesday (March 18).
The EU has already saved EUR1.4 billion-worth in administrative costs as the result of reforms begun in 2005, the commission said.
The reforms have dramatically reduced the number of laws the farmers must follow within the subsidies scheme, the commission said.
"Farmers can spend less time behind their desks and more time in the fields growing crops," said commission agriculture spokesman Michael Mann.
