A call has been made for the introduction of an “ad hoc” financial support mechanism by the EU for farmers hit by current “unprecedented” crises.
Delegations from Croatia and Slovenia brought the proposal before the recent meeting of the EU’s Agriculture and Fisheries Council (AGRIFISH).
They said that the agri-food sector has been impacted by “several external factors” in recent years, over which it had no influence, including the war in Ukraine, that have resulted in “extreme price volatility”.
The delegation noted that natural disasters such as droughts, floods, fires and earthquakes have all impacted the sector.
“We are also witnessing the emergence of infectious diseases of domestic animals and
plant pests with an extremely negative long-term effect on the financial stability of farmers,” they added.
Farmers
The council heard that some farmers have halted improvements to their enterprises due to financial constraints arising from such challenges.
“Such a situation jeopardises the fulfillment of the ambitious objectives of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), as well as the transition to a more resilient sector,” the delegations said.
The proposal, supported by Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Malta and Portugal, noted that “different countries are susceptible to different challenges and events”.
“Hence, there should be a non-discriminatory approach when determining which events are eligible to access the additional financial support,” they said.
It was noted that EU member states have helped farmers through direct financial support,
derogations from the implementation of certain rules and practices and administrative measures.
Financial support
However, the delegation believes there is room for improvement within CAP to better target risk management and strengthen the current response mechanisms when farmers are hit by crises.
“We cannot shift full responsibility to our farmers under the circumstances when such disturbances could not be predicted in any way, or if they are of the magnitude that surpasses their capacities,” they said.
The new approach proposed by Croatia and Slovenia would allow member states “to direct financial aid to those who need it most at a given moment in an efficient, fast and flexible manner, without unnecessary administrative and procedural restrictions”.
The CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) intervention would ensure the possibility of an “ad hoc” financial support mechanism in case of crisis, which would be topped at 2% of the total national CSP budget.
In addition, member states would have the option of granting top-ups of up to 200%.
The delegation stressed that this proposed mechanism would be granted in the following cases:
- Occurrence of natural disasters or other crisis linked to climate change in certain regions, member states or some of its parts;
- Market disturbances due to the exceptional and unexpected price fluctuations and/or production costs of more than 20% compared to the same period of previous year for individual products or groups of products;
- Occurrences of animal’s infectious diseases or plant pests.
Croatia and Slovenia called on the European Commission to consider their proposal and to develop it in consultation with member states.