The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members Common Agricultural Policy Reform and its implications for the Cotswolds Andrew Clark Head of Policy, NFU
Mar 30, 2015
The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members
Common Agricultural Policy Reform and its implications for the Cotswolds
Andrew Clark
Head of Policy, NFU
The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members
Complex political context• Uncertainty over EU Budget• Lisbon ‘co-decision’ process
– Commission– European Parliament– Council of Ministers
• Timetable involving 5 Presidencies with aim of agreement January 2014
• Member States are in very different situations
The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members
“co-decision”
The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members
Historic
SAPS
Hybrid
Flat rate
Move to a flat rate system within MS or Region
The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members5
Average direct payments per potentially eligible areaDirect payments net ceilings fully phased-in (in 2016)
Source: European Commission - DG Agriculture and Rural Development
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
Mal
ta
Bel
gium
Net
herla
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Italy
Gre
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Cyp
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Den
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Slo
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man
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Fra
nce
EU
-15
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EU
-27
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Fin
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EU
-12
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Rom
ania
Por
tuga
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Lith
uani
a
Est
onia
Latv
ia
EUR/ben.EUR/ha
DP net ceilings fully phased-in (EUR/ha)
EU-27 average (EUR/ha)
The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members
Pillar 2 allocationsS
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0
50
100
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Per hectare value of P2 payments by MSMalta not included in this chart
P2 per ha (2012 RDP budget/UAA)
Eu
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The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members
New System of Direct Payments• A modest re-distribution of funding between member
states• Limited flexibility for member states to move funding
between pillar 1 and pillar 2 • Direct payments to be capped, targeted at active farmers
and more heavily conditioned (aka greening)• Changes to cross-compliance• Additional assistance for young farmers• Optional payment in areas of natural constraint and for
re-coupled support
The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members
Pillar 1 – Direct payments
National ceiling
100%
Basic Payment Scheme compulsory (residual)
(58% to 43%)
Greening payment (30%) compulsory
Natural constraints (up to 5%)
voluntary
Coupled payments (up to 5-10%+) voluntary
Young farmers (up to 2%)
compulsorySmall
farmers scheme -
compulsory (maximum
10%)
The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members
An additional payment for “green” agricultural practices
Farmers entitled to a payment under the basic payment shall observe all of the following agricultural practices:
– Crop diversification– Maintenance of Permanent grassland– Ecological focus area
The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members
Crop diversification• Where the arable land, claimed by the farmer,
covers more than 3ha, and is not entirely used for grass production, cultivation on the arable land shall consist of at least three different crops.
• None of those crops shall cover less than 5% and the main one shall not exceed more than 70% of the arable land (arable land includes permanent crops)
• Definitions of ‘crops’ shall be defined by Commission at a later stage.
The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members
Permanent grassland• Farmers shall maintain as permanent grassland
the areas of their holdings declared as such in their 2014 claim, this it to be known as “reference areas under permanent grassland”.
• Farmers will be allowed to “convert” 5% of the reference areas
• "permanent grassland" means land used to grow grasses or other herbaceous forage naturally (self-seeded) or through cultivation (sown) and that is not included in the crop rotation of the holding for 5 years or longer
The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members
Ecological focus area
• Farmers shall devote at least 7% of their eligible area, excluding areas used for permanent grassland, for ecological purposes
• The ecological areas may include for example; fallow land, landscape features, buffer strips, woodland supported by agri-env.
• The Commission will decide which other features count at a later stage
The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members
Derogations
• Farmers whose holding is partially or wholly within Natura2K (i.e. SSSI) will have to do the actions: unless they are not compatible with aims of protected site
• Farmers’ holdings that are organic shall automatically be entitled to the additional aid through a derogation.
The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members
Optional Payment for Areas with Natural Constraint
• Member States may grant an additional payment to farmers whose holding is fully or partially situated in areas of natural constraint ANC (i.e. new LFA)
• Up to 5% of national / regional ceiling• Paid as a top up to the Basic Payment
Entitlements
The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members
Potential impact to agri-environment delivery
• Uncertainty impacting on-farm decisions• Will greening deliver significant change?• Optional areas of natural constraint payments• Changes to cross compliance
– WFD and SUD requirements introduced at pace of slowest
• EU Budget and Treasury match funding
The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members
Implications for the Cotswolds• “Greening measures” may penalise those
already in Environmental Stewardship, as payments payment rates reduce
• Budget for agri-environment activity likely to reduce
• Permanent pasture condition sending perverse signal
The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members
Role for Conservation Board• Understand the CAP reform and impact on the
Cotswolds’ special character • Ensure this character is reflected in schemes and
local advice• Support transfer of Cotswold ESA and CSS
agreements to Environmental Stewardship• Active participant in Campaign for the Farmed
Environment and Environmental Stewardship programmes.
The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members
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