Brussels, 06/06/2008 (Agence Europe) - Farming will have to attract more young people to replace the older generation and to bring greater dynamism to the agricultural sector, said the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday 5 June, in adopting the own initiative report by Donato Tommaso Veraldi (ALDE, Italy) on the future for young farmers under the on-going reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). MEPs want the CAP “health check” to be used to strengthen aid for young farmers' setting up and training, subsidise their high debt and resolve problems over transferring farms.
According to Eurostat, over half of European farms are run by farmers aged over 55. Those under 35 form only 7.6% of the Community's farmers. In Austria and Germany, young farmers form 17% of the total; in Finland and Belgium, more than 14%; in France and Ireland, around 12%. The Mediterranean countries have the lowest percentage of young farmers, in particular Portugal (3.7%) and Italy (5.2%). The EP wants one of the objectives of the CAP to be the removal of obstacles that confront young people when they want to enter farming by making generation replacement a priority.
Setting-up support. MEPs recommend: - re-assessment of setting-up support which has not been reviewed for many years; - raising the Community aid ceiling to €55,000 and extending the time limit for achieving compliance with the rules from three to five years; - including aid for young farmers provided for in rural development legislation among the measures that must feature in member states' programmes; - putting in place specific measures for setting up companies; - bringing greater flexibility to procedures for setting up and taking over farms; - the creation of a reserve fund specifically to help young farmers overcome unforeseeable events, such as severe weather conditions damaging crops or a hike in costs, when they set up; - and the establishment of a European body to monitor setting up and farm and agricultural land transfers.
To pursue the objective of the territorial cohesion of the EU, the EP stresses that it is “vital” to encourage young farmers to set up in disadvantaged agricultural areas (islands and mountains).
Remedying problems of access to funding. The Commission and member states are called on to find solutions to the problem of the high level of indebtedness among young farmers. The EP recommends examining arrangements for offering new farmers start-up capital at preferential rates. It calls on the Commission to bring forward a proposal to help young farmers bear the interest charges incurred with the purchase of their farms.
Encouraging transfer of farms outside the family circle. The EP believes that a policy must be put in place that gives priority to young people who are setting up when land is being allocated and that consideration must be given to legislation which makes it easier to transfer farms to people outside the family circle. It also takes the view that national early retirement arrangements should only apply where the retiring farmer's holding is taken over by a young farmer.
MEPs highlight the economic and environmental interest to the Union in giving greater support to lifelong training for farmers. They encourage programmes that foster the mobility of farmers within the Union (including Leonardo). They believe it is necessary to put in place a programme for exchanging best practice among farmers. Finally, the EP points out that the agricultural sector is the only example of economic activity able to capture carbon dioxide. (L.C./transl. rt)