Nicosia, 11/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - During the informal Agriculture Council debate regarding land abandonment and water scarcity, held in Nicosia (Cyprus) on Tuesday 11 September, several ministers called for improvements to be made in irrigation aid mechanisms. The European Commission said it is willing to improve its proposals in order to take that request into account.
Several countries, such as Spain, Portugal and France, recommended improved measures to allow investment to be made for irrigation. Spain asked for such investment not to be contained (there are currently thresholds to be respected in the context of rural development programmes). France took the view that irrigation measures are a way to combat urbanisation. Paris called for an EU initiative against creating an artificial environment (the use of land for purposes other than farming, such as urbanisation). Portugal said water is a limiting factor that should be regulated; it is necessary to find methods for seasonal (summer/winter) management of water.
Commissioner Dacian Ciolos called on his department to work with the Cypriot Presidency and the Council's technical bodies, as well as with the EP, to improve the conditions proposed concerning support for investment in irrigation, by better identification of the cases that present problems and those that do not. He acknowledged that some countries found the measures proposed inadequate.
Biotechnology. Spain said that biotechnology provides agricultural varieties that are better adapted to the characteristics of the soil, especially when the soil is greatly depleted. Bulgaria also backed this idea. Spain considered it appropriate to contain the effects of natural disasters by perfecting new forestry varieties.
Greening. Poland said it is necessary to support farmers so that they can manage water resources in the best possible way. Small farms, which are less to blame, should be considered “green”. Warsaw also criticised the percentage of direct subsidies proposed (30%) for greening.
Denmark said it was not an option to leave the situation unchanged. It evoked the need for better water management in terms of quantity and quality (purity), a theme taken up by Austria also. Germany was adamant about the fact that water management concerns society as a whole and it insisted on the need to better inform and train farmers about such problems. This point was also raised by Finland and Slovenia. Germany said regions must have the possibility to decide which measures should be implemented, while the United Kingdom was of the view that it will be necessary to adjust farms to the effect of climate change, especially through innovation measures. The UK mentioned the fact that the CAP budget for 2014-2020 could be reviewed downward.
The post 2013 CAP is geared to the notion of triple performance (economic, environmental and social sustainability), Ciolos said. In his view, one cannot speak of agricultural performance without taking the above three aspects into account. He suggests improving the environmental performance of European agriculture through: a system of enhanced compliance; direct “green” payments; a better targeted rural development policy; and optimal use of applied research.
On the subject of greening, Ciolos said that, in the 7% of surface area of ecological interest, one can find surface areas that, even now, are not cultivated but which are part of the farm, such as areas covered by trees, shrubs, or areas that include grassy strips around crop growing strips, and areas where the vegetation is wild. All such vegetation will not have to be modified by farmers to make them eligible for direct EU aid. They will be taken into account in the 7%. Ciolos agrees that part of that 7% may be managed collectively by several farms in any one zone. He also seems open to the idea of making a link between the area of ecological interest and the surface in a farm used for crop growing that have a positive nitrogen contribution to soil fertility. Finally, there is the question of equivalence between the agri-environmental measures and the greening measures. For a farm to be certified, these environmental measures should cover all farms and have an impact at least similar to greening measures. (LC/transl.jl)