Support under the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) should go to those "actively producing, who are actively working the land and who are working with animals", European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen said in Brussels, but agreeing who counts as an active farmer is a "huge challenge" because member states hold divergent views, Agriland reports.

Speaking after the Agrifish Council on Monday 28 September, Hansen said definitions and some "mandatory instruments" are still needed. The Commission's proposals ringfence income support for farmers, which he called very important.

He warned that the voluntary approach to degressivity and capping put forward by some member states in the negotiations would go against the common nature of the policy. "I do not think this is the right way forward," he said, though he was willing to hear ministers on acceptable thresholds. The Commission has proposed a mandatory cap of EUR 100,000 per farm a year, with hectare-based payments reduced progressively from EUR 20,000.

"We don't want to harm well functioning farms," Hansen said, but he added that some entities buying up land are not agricultural producers, and that access to land is a problem across Europe, especially for younger farmers.

Under the Irish presidency, ministers aim to reach a partial general approach on the post-2027 CAP at next month's Agrifish Council. "Flexibility, yes, but not at the cost of the common policy," Hansen said, calling for better-targeted support and investment in resilience and adaptation.

Photo: Bogdan Hoyaux / European Union / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

Source: Agriland