Brussels, 26/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - The German cabinet introduced a law on Wednesday 26 February to introduce the new common agricultural policy (CAP) into German law. The AFP press agency says that the country has decided to adjust the existing mechanisms as little as possible.
The law introduced by the German ministers, which still needs the approval of the Bundestag before it comes into force on 1 August 2014, sets out payment details for farm subsidies, a cornerstone of the CAP. German farmers receive more than €5 billion in farm subsidies from the CAP each year.
Germany'sAgriculture Minister Christian Schmidt said that German farmers could count on the government and that the German aspect of CAP reforms were realistic rules on direct payments with genuine value-added for the environment.
The optional cap on direct payments for big farms will not be used in Germany, which is fiercely opposed to the idea. Germany has, however, decided to restrict to 4.5% a year from 2015 to 2019 the transfer of aid from direct aid and market spending to rural development. This will mean a total transfer of some €230 million. Some €1.1 billion is available under extra measures for farming, added the minister. The Lander want to use the extra cash for fields, pasture land, agri-environmental measures, livestock farming and animal welfare. The cash will also be used to aid organic farming and provide compulsory payments in areas suffering from natural disadvantages.
The powerful German farming federation, DBV, which represents mainly big farms and intensive farming, lobbied to restrict coercion for green measures (30% of direct aid depends on environmental criteria). It was keen to ensure that some farmland was not left fallow. The new rules stipulate that leaving fields fallow will not necessarily be required, for example when protein-rich crops are grown that feed the soil. (LC)