Transcript CAP Reform - Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

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
Move to a flat rate
system within MS or
Region
Historic
SAPS
Hybrid
Flat rate
The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members
Average direct payments per potentially eligible area
Direct payments net ceilings fully phased-in (in 2016)
EUR/ha
EUR/ben.
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
DP net ceilings fully phased-in (EUR/ha)
EU-27 average (EUR/ha)
Source: European Commission - DG Agriculture and Rural Development
5
The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members
Latvia
Estonia
Lithuania
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
EU-12
Poland
Bulgaria
United Kingdom
Sweden
Finland
Spain
Czech Republic
Hungary
Austria
Ireland
EU-27
Luxembourg
EU-15
France
Germany
Slovenia
Denmark
Cyprus
Greece
Italy
Netherlands
Belgium
Malta
0
Pillar 2 allocations
Per hectare value of P2 payments by MS
Malta not included in this chart
250
P2 per ha (2012 RDP budget/UAA)
Euro per hectare
200
150
100
England
Wales
Denmark
France
Netherla…
Spain
Belgium
EU 15
Germany
Latvia
Ireland
Sweden
Lithuania
Romania
Luxembo…
Italy
EU 12
Poland
Estonia
Finland
Bulgaria
Hungary
Slovakia
Cyprus
Greece
Austria
Portugal
Slovenia
0
Czech…
50
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
Greening payment (30%)
Pillar compulsory
1 – Direct payments
Young farmers (up to 2%)
National
ceiling
100%
compulsory
Coupled payments (up to 5-10%+)
voluntary
Natural constraints (up to 5%)
Small
farmers
scheme compulsory
(maximum
10%)
voluntary
Basic Payment Scheme
compulsory (residual)
(58% to 43%)
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 (selfseeded) 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
THANK YOU
The NFU champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members