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The idea is to allow crops to be grown on fallow land to \u201cmaintain biodiversity and production objectives on the European continent\u201d, French Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau said on arrival in Brussels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under the current CAP programme, which came into force this year, farmers must, in theory, devote 4% of their arable land to non-productive features such as hedges, groves and fallow land to comply with Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC 8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The threshold can be reduced to 3% if they include 4% of intermediate catch crops or nitrogen-fixing crops without pesticides to reach 7% of biodiversity-friendly elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, due to the consequences of the war in Ukraine and the urgent need to maintain Europe\u2019s food security, the EU Commission agreed to grant member states two yearly derogations to cultivate this set-aside land, one in 2023 and one in 2022 under the previous CAP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Partial derogation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
But when it comes to derogations, the EU\u2019s agricultural regulations are quite clear: they cannot exceed one year \u2013 which means that to receive subsidies under the new CAP, fallow land will have to be brought back into production in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To get around this restriction, Fesneau, backed by around 10 EU countries, is proposing a \u201cpartial application\u201d of this cross-compliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe 7% rate of biodiversity-friendly elements would be maintained, but farmers would be able to reach this rate without respecting the minimum rate of set-aside or non-productive elements,\u201d he told his European counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In other words, cross-compliance would be maintained, but only catch crops and nitrogen-fixing crops would be required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the French minister, this \u201cflexibility\u201d measure would strengthen the EU\u2019s food security, offsetting the slowdown in Ukrainian grain exports and the drop in production by European farmers hit by extreme weather events over the past two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is imperative that we continue to support Europe\u2019s production potential. Imports of cereals (wheat, barley and maize) should reach 22 million tonnes in 2022, while this year we have reached 40 million tonnes,\u201d stressed Fesneau, calling for domestic production to be brought back under control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A sceptical Commission<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The initiative, co-signed by around 10 countries, was welcomed by most EU delegations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, some countries want to go further by abolishing cross-compliance altogether or crop rotation (GAEC7), as Italian Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida proposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But while his Dutch counterpart, Piet Adema, suggests speeding up this process to be applied for 2024, Germany\u2019s Cem \u00d6zdemir calls for \u201cmore information\u201d to ensure that the overall ambition of protecting biodiversity is maintained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Things are less clear for the European Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n