The strategic plans of France, Germany and Ireland implementing the 2023-2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) fail to meet equity targets, according to an analysis published on Monday 28 August by the organisation ARC 2020.
These strategic plans must be corrected, otherwise the trend towards specialisation and concentration in the agri-food sector will continue, warned this NGO.
The new CAP contains elements designed to make this policy fairer (internal convergence of aid, capping of direct payments, redistributive payments, etc.)
“We found that, while these three strategic plans contain positive elements and have taken some steps forward, France, Germany and Ireland have remained static on many relevant issues or have taken minimal action in relation to society’s expectations and their commitments to a fairer CAP”, reads the report.
In Germany, the absence of strict criteria for targeting the beneficiaries of redistributive payments “hinders the possibility of a significant impact on the incomes of small farms”. What’s more, the absence of capping measures and specific schemes for small farmers only exacerbates the situation.
In the case of France, it is criticised for having taken only minor measures to increase the fairness of direct payments. The NGO criticises the fact that France has put in place “neither capping nor the aid scheme for small farmers”.
In Ireland, the authors found that the progress made (capping, redistribution) is “commendable when viewed broadly.”
The NGO also notes that Italy has abolished the capping on large beneficiaries in excess of €500,000 per year, in the name of simplifying the CAP.
Link to the analysis from this NGO: https://aeur.eu/f/8dl (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)