The Common Agricultural Policy also know as CAP is a major policy, implemented by the European Commission, in an effort to increase environmental sustainability in the European Area. The CAP has been growing increasingly, adapted for integrating more environmental concerns aiming at producing much better results.
To integrate environmental concern into the Common Agricultural Policy, the Commission is basing the policy on the following:
- Ensuring a sustainable way of farming by avoiding any environmentally harmful agricultural activity
- Providing incentives for environmentally beneficial public goods and services
To ensure sustainable agricultural activities, the immediate stakeholders, in this case, the farmers, are obligated to maintain respect for the common rules and standards for preserving the environment and the landscape. These rules and standards are what form the basis for ensuring that agricultural activities will be undertaken in a sustainable manner.
However, the environmental objectives that have been set by the EU, and not only the EU, sometimes go beyond the abilities of the farmers, who are expected to deliver more than they can. Engaging in these actions voluntarily is difficult for the farmers, who are mostly employing their own resources to reach the appropriate results. Without proper incentives, it is nearly impossible.
To solve the problem the Common Agricultural Policy provides funding opportunities to farmers and not only, aiming at enhancing all appropriate agricultural activity in multiple sectors such as food safety, environmental protection, animal welfare, and the maintenance of land and good environmental and agricultural condition.
The agricultural expenditure is financed by two funds, which form part of the EU's general budget: the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) which primarily finances direct payments to farmers and measures to regulate agricultural markets, and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) which co-finances the rural development programmes of the Member States.
The EAGF and EAFRD are implemented in shared management between the Member States and the Union. This means among others that the Commission does not make payments directly to the beneficiaries of aid; this task is delegated to the Member States.
There is also the ‘’Information measures relating to the Common Agricultural Policy’’, the only permanent Common Agricultural policy funding scheme which is centrally managed by the European Commission.
Bellow, you can find some of the most popular calls, that fall under the Common Agricultural Policy efforts to improve current environmental concerns
Programme: Horizon 2020
Call: Developing long-term monitoring and evaluation frameworks for the Common Agricultural Policy
Deadline: 22/01/2020
Budget: 2,000,000
Description: The project will establish an inventory of indicators, proxies and data needs which would allow for better targeting of agricultural policy, in social, environmental and economic terms. The consortium will rely on the input of the relevant scientific disciplines and administrations.
Programme: Horizon 2020
Call: Stepping up integrated pest management
Deadline: 22/01/2020
Budget: 6,000,000
Description: There is a need to develop and promote more cost-effective and sustainable Integrated Pest Management (IPM) options which are based on a holistic view of agro-ecosystems. IPM is part of EU legislation promoting the sustainable use of plant protection products (SUD). The various IPM solutions being developed across Europe all differ depending on the crops, the available climate monitoring systems, the underlying knowledge of pest populations, on pedo-climatic conditions and on the agro-ecological environment.
Programme: Common Agricultural Policy
Call: Information measures relating to the Common Agricultural Policy
Deadline: 22/01/2020
Budget: 4,000,000
Description: Having regard to the aims and, particularly, to the ever-increasing focus on the sustainability of agriculture of the CAP, the proposals for information measures should address specifically this topic focusing on the economic, environmental and social dimensions of the Common Agricultural Policy
The European Union shapes its budget for a pragmatic, modern, and long-term planning for the 2021-27 period to deliver on issues that matter to Europeans. The Commission proposes that funding for the CAP is moderately reduced – by around 5% – due to fewer contributions, with a future union of 27 members
