This report examines the position of farmers in the supply chain and makes recommendations as to how to improve that position. It is the result of the deliberations of the Agricultural Markets Task Force (Task Force), which was set up in January 2016 as a European Commission expert group at the instigation of Phil Hogan, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has become more market-oriented and less reliant on the management of markets than before. Consequently, European agriculture is increasingly integrated in global markets. The shifts have been incremental. The phasing-out of milk and sugar quotas is the latest step in this process. Open markets imply opportunities but also challenges. There is concern that farmers, generally fragmented as a group and less supported now by the policy tools that operated to sustain producer prices in the past, are becoming the main shock absorber in the supply chain as regards market risks such as price volatility or prolonged periods of low prices.