Payment rates in the next Common Agricultural Policy's (CAP) main farm income support scheme could be based on means tests carried out on farm incomes over a yet-to-be-defined reference period under new draft plans outlining the position of member states in CAP negotiations.
The draft position, which is to be debated and finalised by farm ministers next week, points towards member states pushing to amend key elements of the European Commission’s plans for 2028-2034 direct payments reform.
The draft member states’ document maintains the Commission plan to merge the Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme (BISS), Complementary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS) and the young farmer top-up into one area-based scheme.
This proposed scheme would abolish the current entitlements-based model that has per-hectare payment rates rooted in historic levels of production.
Clean slate
It would wipe the entitlement slate clean and deliver a new flatline payment rate to all farmers, with a top-up for young farmers and other groups of farmers decided at national level.
This new scheme should pay a national average payment rate of between €130/ha and €240/ha in member states’ eyes, which is in line with the Commission’s payment rate plans.
Member states could choose other “categories of farmers, geographic areas, agronomic areas or traditional forms of agriculture that have differing income needs” that would get a higher per-hectare payment or a lump sum.
“The level of support shall be determined based on agricultural income over a representative reference period or based on other objective and non-discriminatory criteria,” the draft document says.
It is not clear whether the proposed means testing of higher support levels would be determined by assessing a group of farmers’ incomes, such as by taking sectoral averages or by conducting farm-specific income assessments.
The document gives no indication of where the “representative reference period” could lie.
Budget battle
The publication of member states' draft position on the CAP follows last week's unveiling of their position of the wider EU budget debate.
This position looked to slash ringfenced funding for the CAP by over €90bn in proposals that were met with fury by MEPs and farming organisations.
The payment rates paid out in the 2028-2034 CAP scheme that will take over from BISS will be closely tied to whether the final budget agreed is cut to this extent.
