GAEC 7 exemption a 'victory' for smaller farmers - MEP
There has been a "victory" for smaller tillage farmers across Ireland and the EU.
MEP Maria Walsh spoke as farmers with holdings below 30 hectares could now be exempt from GAEC 7 controls and penalties.
The European Parliament and the EU Council presidency have reached a provisional agreement on simplifying the CAP.
Maria Walsh is a full member of the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee.
GAEC 7
She submitted an amendment to the European Commission’s agricultural simplification package to protect smaller farmers from what she described as "overly cumbersome" Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) 7 regulations.
MEP Walsh’s proposal has been accepted by the institutions of the EU and is now included in the new CAP simplification package, which is expected to enter into force as of 2026.
It will apply to all farmers with holdings below 30 hectares (74 acres).
'Real win'
MEP Walsh has hailed this as a "victory" for smaller tillage farmers.
“This is a real win for our small farmers, and a real win for common sense," she said.
"From day one, I have been calling for fairer, simpler rules that actually work for the people producing our food.
"To date, farmers with holdings under 10 hectares have been exempt from GAEC 7 rules - however this will now increase to all farms up to 30 hectares."
Walsh said that a one-size-fits-all approach to farm regulation "simply doesn’t work".
"Many farmers with small holdings between 10-30 hectares have been buried in paperwork and penalties for rules that made little sense for their scale of operation," Walsh continued.
“Small farmers should be supported, not penalised by bureaucracy.
"They are the backbone of rural communities right across Ireland, and they deserve a CAP that helps them thrive."
Other elements within the new CAP simplification package include new crisis payments established for farmers for natural disasters, adverse climatic events or catastrophic events.
There may also be possibility for member states to provide additional support from pillar I and pillar II to farmers for complying with GAEC 2 and 9 obligations by removing them from the baseline obligations, Walsh said.
