Only genuine active farmers engaged in food production should be eligible to claim payments from the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the IFA has said in its CAP post-2027 document.
The responsibility of defining active farmers should rest with individual member states, given the diversity of food production systems across Europe, the IFA said.
“Activity should be defined through a minimum output/sale value from the farm and stocking density, with a different, lower level for organic farms, those on designated land or those in Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC),” it added.
The IFA has said that the economic impact of designation needs to be better realised in future CAP schemes and no further restrictions should apply to designated or Natura 2000 lands.
Environment schemes
“Agri-environment schemes should be available and appealing to all farmers (not only at the start of the new CAP programme),” it added.
“Baseline requirements should be removed, with payment to meet national mandatory requirements, plus any additional actions, provided.
A loyalty bonus should be built into payments where farmers continually participate in agri-environmental schemes.”
SHARING OPTIONS