Strategic dialogue report

The final report of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture is now available: https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/common-agricultural-policy/cap-overview/main-initiatives-strategic-dialogue-future-eu-agriculture_en#strategic-dialogue-report

'There is consensus among members of the Strategic Dialogue that economic, environmental and social sustainability in the agri-food sector can reinforce each other, especially when supported by coherent policy measures.'   One can but hope for the latter.

“Business as usual, be it economic, social or environmental, is not an option,” said the report.. “Bold and swift action at all levels is needed” to tackle the “multiple crises” affecting farmers, including increased impacts from extreme weather such as drought, from inflation and from low-cost global competitors.

Among other proposals of the report are schemes to encourage consumers to cut their meat intake, including through tax incentives and labelling, and to help farmers move away from livestock farming, including a controversial suggestion to introduce voluntary buyout schemes for farms in areas with high levels of intensive animal farming.

The most significant recommendation is a major overhaul of the EU’s CAP subsidy scheme, which was first launched in 1962 and consumes a third of the bloc’s multiannual budget. Instead of allocating direct support to farmers according to the amount of land they own and linking that to mandatory environmental standards, the report recommends that subsidies should go to “the active farmers who need it most” based on their “economic viability”.

The report proposes that farmers receive incentives within the CAP to green their practices, as well as from a “Just Transition Fund” that is outside the CAP budget and is dedicated to longer-term changes such as converting farms to “regenerative” or organic methods. There should also be a loan package of up to €3bn from the European Investment Bank that prioritises young farmers.