‘CAP-itulation’ – EU Commission gives up further EFA criteria

April 4, 2014 Oliver Moore Recent updates

In response to changes in the Delegated Acts, highlighted earlier this week in this article, ARC2020 has released the following press release : ‘CAP-itulation’ – EU Commission gives up further Ecological Focus Area criteria (pdf)

‘CAP-itulation’ – EU Commission gives up further Ecological Focus Area criteria

BEGINS // Bowing to pressure from conservative, eurosceptic and extreme right MEPs over the past weeks, the European Commission has given up one of the few remaining green aspects of the reformed CAP -the Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs). In an unnecessary ‘special declaration’ issued by the Commission this Wednesday (April 2), it was announced that: “As far as the production of nitrogen-fixing crops on EFA is concerned, the Commission has decided to adjust the coefficient in the Annex (…) such that 1 hectare of a nitrogen-fixing crop such as alfalfa, clover or lupins can be equivalent to 0.7 ha of EFA (rather than 0.3 ha in the original text) (emphasis added),” without any binding restrictions on pesticides use on those crops.

This change radically reverses the purpose of EFAs by eliminating the disincentive of the former weighting factor. Previously, if the objective was to find land to fulfill the 5% greening requirement and farmers wanted to use Nitrogen-fixing crops to do that, they would have had to declare 3.33ha to achieve 1ha of the EFA – this would have acted as a disincentive. Now only 1.43ha of Nitrogen-fixing crops would be enough to fulfill 1ha of the EFA requirement, even if that production uses pesticides which would prevent pollination. If the EFAs are supposed to somehow stimulate vegetable protein production, it is misguided: a higher weighting means the volume of protein grown on EFA will be less.

As such, EFAs no longer safeguard and improve biodiversity on farms, but rather ensure the production potential of the EU is not reduced. The new ‘Green’ payments agreed under the CAP reform will go into the pockets of the same beneficiaries without changing any farming practices at all.

On March 11^th the Commission had approved Delegated Acts detailing specific reformed CAP rules including EFAs. The coalition ofMEPs opposed to greening have forced the Commission to backpedal and water down both the objectives and criteria relating to EFAs. This sets a precedent for all DAs that are politically tough in the future, and is another example of yet more deals being made behind closed doors and with a selected clique of MEPs blocking any change towards more sustainable farming and food systems.

The core issue in this greening debate is the failure of the business-as-usual brigade to understand that biodiversity and nature are essential to maintaining long term food productivity in Europe: EFAs are not simply nature reserves or land being set-aside from production, but rather more diverse and rich landscape features across Europe. In order to maintain and increase productivity, we need more farming systems that increase ecosystem functions like pollination, soil formation, carbon sequestration, nutrient and water cycling, regulation of pests by insect predators.

ARC2020 calls upon its members and supporters across the EU Member States to ask their agricultural minister to enforce the CAP measures -both Pillar 1 and 2- that will help maintain and improve biodiversity on farms. // ENDS

Contact:

Samuel Feret (ARC2020′s Coordinator) contact@arc2020.eu , +33 6 08 83 12 35

Oliver Moore (ARC2020′s EU Correspondent) (oliver@arc2020.eu)

Shirin Kiamanesh (ARC2020′s Communications Manager) communication@arc2020.eu

About Oliver Moore 213 Articles

Dr. Oliver Moore is the communications director and editor-in-chief with ARC2020. He has a PhD in the sociology of farming and food, where he specialised in organics and direct sales. He is published in the International Journal of Consumer Studies, International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology and the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. A weekly columnist and contributor with Irish Examiner, he is a regular on Countrywide (Irish farm radio show on the national broadcaster RTE 1) and engages in other communications work around agri-food and rural issues, such as with the soil, permaculture, climate change adaptation and citizen science initiative Grow Observatory . He lectures part time in the Centre for Co-operative Studies UCC.

A propos d'Oliver Moore
Oliver voyage beaucoup moins qu’auparavant, pour ce qui concerne son activité professionnelle. Il peut néanmoins admirer par la fenêtre de son bureau les mésanges charbonnières et les corbeaux perchés au sommet du saule dans le jardin de sa maison au cœur de l’écovillage de Cloughjordan, en Irlande. L’écovillage est un site de 67 acres dans le nord du Tipperary. Il comprend d’espaces boisés, des paysages comestibles, des lieux de vie, d’habitation et de travail, ainsi qu’une ferme appartenant à la communauté. Les jours où il travaille dans le bureau du centre d’entreprise communautaire, il profite d’une vue sur les chevaux, les panneaux solaires, les toilettes sèches et les jardins familiaux.

Ce bureau au sein de l’écovillage constitue en effet un tiers-lieu de travail accueillant également des collaborateurs des associations Cultivate et Ecolise, ainsi qu’un laboratoire de fabrication (« fab lab »).

Oliver est membre du conseil d’administration de la ferme communautaire (pour la seconde fois !) et donne également des cours sur le Master en coopératives, agroalimentaire et développement durable à l’University College Cork. Il a une formation en sociologie rurale : son doctorat et les articles qu’il publie dans des journaux scientifiques portent sur ce domaine au sens large.

Il consacre la majorité de son temps de travail à l’ARC 2020. Il collabore avec ARC depuis 2013, date à laquelle l’Irlande a assuré la présidence de l’UE pendant six mois. C’est là qu’il a pu constater l’importance de la politique agroalimentaire et rurale grâce à sa chronique hebdomadaire sur le site d’ARC. Après six mois, il est nommé rédacteur en chef et responsable de la communication, poste qu’il occupe toujours aujourd’hui. Oliver supervise le contenu du site web et des médias sociaux, aide à définir l’orientation de l’organisation et parfois même rédige un article pour le site web.

À l’époque où on voyageait davantage, il a eu la chance de passer du temps sous les tropiques, où il a aidé des ONG irlandaises de commerce équitable – au Ghana, au Kenya, au Mali, en Inde et au Salvador – à raconter leur histoire.

Il se peut que ces jours-là reviennent. Pour son compte Oliver continuera de préférer naviguer en Europe par bateau, puis en train. Après tout, la France n’est qu’à une nuit de navigation. En attendant, il y a toujours de nombreuses possibilités de bénévolat dans la communauté dans les campagnes du centre de l’Irlande.