As part of proposals to reduce the administrative burden in farming, the European Commission has today (Thursday, March 7) launched an online survey to gather the views of EU farmers.
The survey, which will remain open until April 8, seeks to understand the workload placed on farmers by procedures and rules linked to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), as well as other EU rules for food and agriculture.
The commission said that the perspectives shared by farmers will help it identify “sources of concern and complexity in the way these policies and schemes are applied in the EU countries”.
The commission is planning to present preliminary findings of the survey, which can be found by clicking here, by mid-April.
A more detailed analysis of the consultation will be published in Autumn 2024, aiming to clarify the sources of complexity for farmers at EU level, national level, under CAP and other requirements and policies.
Farming
Among the questions posed in the survey, which should take around 20 minutes to complete, is how much time farmers spend on administrative tasks linked to schemes.
Farmers are asked to rate the complexity of different procedures and rules applicable on farms and if they use outside help to prepare their CAP scheme applications.
In parallel, the EU Commission said that interviews will be organised with farming organisations to “complete the picture”.
EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski said the survey will allow the EU Commission to reach out directly to farmers.
“These insights will provide a clearer picture of the specific issues faced by farmers across the EU, enabling us to develop targeted responses that reduce complexity and advance simplification.
“I therefore encourage all farmers to share their views and contribute their voices in this survey,” he said.
Actions
Following a wave of farmer protests across the EU, the commission has come forward with a series of actions “to ease the pressure currently felt by EU farmers”.
Last month, the commission adopted the partial derogation on rules applying to fallow lands (GAEC 8) which had been called for by farmers and many member states.
Ahead of a meeting of the council of agriculture ministers on February 26, the commission sent a range of short- and mid-term proposed measures to the Belgian presidency.
This farmer survey was among the short-term actions announced, alongside the simplification for certain checks and the clarification of the concept of force majeure and exceptional circumstances.
The commission said that discussions have already taken place on these last two points with member states.
Further proposals on mid-term actions to be taken as well as actions to improve the position of farmers in the food supply chain are planned for mid-March.