Tag: active farmer

Posted on

The Commission’s proposal to replace the ‘active farmer’ definition appears more bureaucratic

There are two parallel debates taking place in this CAP reform round under the general rubric of targeting, or who deserves support. One issue is around the definition of an active farmer. The other is that support should be targeted on farmers in need. In this post, I want to focus on the changes proposed by the Commission in the way active farmers are defined.

Active farmers in the current Regulation are a sub-set of all farmers. Only active farmers are eligible to receive direct payments (decoupled and coupled payments). While we can use the concept ‘active farmer’ which was introduced in the current CAP Strategic Plans Regulation as a shorthand, its specific implementation has changed in the proposal for the post-2027 CAP.

Active farmers in the CAP Strategic Plan Regulation

Under the current CAP Strategic Plans Regulation, the distinction is made between a farmer and a beneficiary of direct payments.… Read the rest

Posted on

CAP decisions make slow progress towards the green transition: I Definitions

Last week both the AGRIFISH Council and the European Parliament agreed their negotiating mandates to enter the final stage of the approval process for the framework of the future CAP, thus opening the way for the trilogue process with the Commission to reach final agreement on the CAP legislation in the early part of next year.

Agreeing these positions was not without drama in either the Council or Parliament. The Council press statement announcing that its negotiating position had been agreed was issued at 04.43 on Wednesday morning 21 October 2020 after an extra night of negotiations following its two-day meeting. The voting on the Parliament’s amendments took place during the week under intense lobbying, and with cries of foul directed at the voting procedures used.  

The very first amendment voted (AM1147) tabled by the Greens political group called for the rejection of the Commission proposal but only gained the support of 24% of those voting.… Read the rest