The new CAP may affect grain production

The CAP's "greening" requirements, restrictions on the use of plant protection products and other new requirements will make grain cultivation more expensive, which may result in a decrease in cereal areas in the EU, concluded the COPA-COGECA and EC working group "Cereals, Oilseeds and Protein Crops", in which Aigars Šutka, a representative of the association "Farmers' Parliament", participated as an expert from Latvia.

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It is known that the "green component" included in the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been a subject of serious discussions in EU Member States for a long time. The so-called "greening" requirements are related to 30% of area payments. The working group explained that Member States have some freedom in how to implement them, but the general conditions are the same for all countries. These are: a farm must grow two crops on agricultural land if its area is from 10 to 30 ha, and at least three crops if the area is over 30 ha. The exception is farms that mainly grow grassland. The ecological focus area on a farm must occupy at least 5% of agricultural land if it cultivates more than 15 ha. Member States must define what can be done on these areas and what crops will be grown on these 5% (grasslands, fallows, legumes, etc.).

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Latvian farmers should be ready to implement the new CAP requirements as early as 2015. In addition, the rules for integrated crop production will also come into force soon. Several more innovations are expected in the future at the EU level, related to the seed sector, the circulation of fertilizers on the market and labeling. It is possible that the use of several more groups of plant protection products will be restricted in the near future. This may overall create additional costs, as well as limit crop yields. The latest news presented by CEMA (European Agricultural Machinery Association) in the working group is that the European Commission plans to introduce new conditions related to CO2 emissions and promote the replacement of old engines with new generation engines.

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Following the reports of the COPA–COGECA experts, the information was prepared for publication by Iveta Tomsone, Head of Public Relations at the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.