An agricultural policy fit for the future: Three priorities in the revised CAP Strategic Plan
On 28 June 2024, Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig presented a comprehensive amendment to the CAP Strategic Plan to the EU Commission. The revised plan focusses on three key areas: Making the Agri-environmental Programme more attractive, simplifying implementation and an impulse programme to cushion inflation. Approval is expected in September 2024.
1 More attractive Agri-environmental programme ÖPUL
The ÖPUL Agri-environmental Programme is being upgraded with new measures to promote biodiversity, climate protection and organic farming. The main changes include:
- Extra payments and premiums: Introduction of additional extra payments for circular economy on organic farms and increase in premiums for whole-farm arable measures and biodiversity areas.
- New eco-scheme: Subsidisation of set-aside areas and agroforestry strips.
- Flexibilisation: Adjustment of cultivation and ploughing times for greening.
- Offers of support in terms of climate protection: Expansion of support for nitrogen-reduced feeding of pigs.
- Support for Alpine pasture farming: New extra payment for the creation of an Alpine pasture plan and additional expansion of nature conservation measures on the Alpine pasture.
- Nature conservation: Increased climate protection measures.
2 Simplifications in CAP implementation
In order to facilitate the implementation of the CAP, various simplifications and reductions in the control burden will be introduced:
- Cancellation of recording obligations: Simplification of grassland biodiversity areas and animal welfare indoor livestock farming as well as simplified Alpine pasture declarations.
- Voluntary compliance: fulfilment: Instead of the obligation to leave 4 per cent of arable land fallow, farmers can fulfil this requirement via a voluntary eco-scheme.
- Crop diversification: instead of crop rotation, the GAEC (Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions) 7 requirement can be met in future by means of crop diversification.
- Control exemption: Farms under 10 hectares are exempt from controls and sanctions within the framework of conditionality.
3 Stimulus programme to cushion inflation
An additional 360 million euros will be made available from 2024 to 2027 to support farmers and cushion the impact of inflation. The funds are used as follows:
- Increased compensations for the services rendered: 8 percent increase in payments for services in the Agri-environmental Programme.
- Compensatory allowances: Increase in compensatory allowances for less-favoured areas by 8 percent, for farms in handicap groups 3 and 4 by as much as 14 percent.
- Investment promotion: Raising of the upper limit of eligible costs for investments in animal welfare, climate and water management to 500,000 euros.
- In addition, 50 million euros were included in the Strategic Plan for the investment promotion of particularly animal-friendly barn buildings in the pig farming sector, which have been available from 1 August 2024 onwards.
These comprehensive changes to the CAP Strategic Plan are intended to make Austrian agriculture more sustainable and resilient by promoting biodiversity, climate protection and adaptation to climate change as well as by improving the economic framework conditions for farmers.