The farmers' organisation Via Campesina met MEPs from the European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture on 27 November to inform them of its seven main demands on the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The first is that it should make it possible to maintain agricultural activity oriented towards the production of foodstuffs and not biofuels in all rural areas. Via Campesina also advocates a better distribution of direct support with a mandatory ceiling for direct payments of €60,000, subject to a 50% deduction from wage costs and a mandatory direct payment to small farmers.
The farmers' organization also calls for better recognition of agro-ecological models in ecological programmes and for the rejection of mandatory financing of agricultural insurance. Finally, it would like to see social conditionality included in the CAP, in particular concerning the rights and accommodation of agricultural workers.
For their part, MEPs in the Agriculture Committee have until 3 December to table amendments to the three draft reports on the post-2020 CAP (see EUROPE 12142). The parliamentary rapporteurs responsible for these texts have already introduced more than 600. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)