National CAP Strategic Plans are significant because they allow Member States to tailor CAP interventions to their specific agricultural and rural contexts. These plans ensure that local needs are met by:

• Conducting thorough assessments of national and regional challenges and priorities.
• Engaging stakeholders, including farmers, local authorities, and civil society, in the planning process.
• Setting specific targets and measures that address the unique environmental, economic, and social conditions of each Member State.
• Allowing flexibility and adaptability in implementing CAP measures to achieve the overarching EU objectives.

The CAP 2023-2027 addresses challenges faced by rural areas through:

• Funding for rural development projects that enhance infrastructure, services, and quality of life in rural communities.
• Support for diversification of rural economies, including tourism, local food production, and crafts.
• Investments in digital connectivity and smart villages to bridge the urban-rural digital divide.
• Encouraging community-led local development (CLLD) to empower rural populations to take charge of their development.

The CAP 2023-2027 plays a crucial role in ensuring food security by:

• Supporting stable and fair incomes for farmers to maintain a resilient agricultural sector.
• Investing in sustainable agricultural practices to enhance productivity and resilience against climate change.
• Promoting diversification of crops and farming systems to reduce dependency on single commodities.
• Enhancing crisis management tools to respond to market disturbances and ensure continuous food supply.

The CAP 2023-2027 supports the transition to sustainable farming practices by:

• Providing financial incentives for farmers to adopt eco-friendly practices through eco-schemes and agri-environment-climate measures.
• Offering training, education, and advisory services on sustainable farming techniques.
• Funding research and innovation projects focused on sustainability.
• Promoting cooperation and knowledge exchange among farmers, researchers, and stakeholders to develop and implement best practices.

The CAP 2023-2027 includes measures to simplify the administrative burden for farmers by:

• Streamlining application processes and reducing paperwork through digital tools and platforms.
• Providing clearer guidelines and support for compliance with new regulations.
• Introducing a simplified scheme for small farms with fewer reporting requirements.
• Enhancing advisory services to help farmers navigate the new policy framework.

The CAP 2023-2027 aims to ensure fair distribution of funds through several mechanisms:

• Capping and reduction of direct payments to large farms to redistribute funds to smaller holdings.
• Enhanced support for small and medium-sized farms under the redistributive payment scheme.
• Higher rates of support for young farmers and new entrants.
• Targeted rural development programs aimed at supporting small-scale farming operations and promoting local food systems.

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the CAP 2023-2027 includes several measures:

• Eco-schemes that support carbon farming practices such as cover cropping, reduced tillage, and agroforestry.
• Investments in precision farming technologies to optimize resource use and reduce emissions.
• Support for renewable energy projects on farms.
• Funding for research and innovation in sustainable agricultural practices.

The CAP 2023-2027 addresses biodiversity loss through enhanced conditionality requirements that link direct payments to compliance with environmental standards. It also introduces eco-schemes that incentivize practices such as maintaining permanent grassland, creating buffer strips, and implementing crop diversification. Increased funding for agri-environment-climate measures (AECMs) and support for organic farming also play crucial roles in promoting biodiversity.

Πότε και γιατί δημιουργήθηκε η Κοινή Αγροτική Πολιτική?

Μία από τις μεγαλύτερες προκλήσεις για την Ευρώπη μετά το Δεύτερο Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο ήταν η αντιμετώπιση της έλλειψης τροφίμων. Οι ηγέτες της τότε Ευρωπαϊκής Οικονομικής Κοινότητας έκριναν αναγκαίο να δράσουν ώστε η Γηραιά Ήπειρος να καταστεί αυτάρκης σε τρόφιμα, να εξασφαλιστεί επαρκής εφοδιασμός των αγορών με τρόφιμα, συνεχής ροή τροφίμων και γεωργικών προϊόντων εντός της Ευρώπης. 

Για το λόγο αυτό, οι έξι ιδρυτικές χώρες της Ευρωπαϊκής Οικονομικής Κοινότητας (Βέλγιο, Γαλλία, Γερμανία, Ιταλία, Λουξεμβούργο και Ολλανδία) το 1962 δημιούργησαν την Κοινή Αγροτική Πολιτική (ΚΑΠ), η οποία αποτελεί τη μακροβιότερη πολιτική της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης. 

When and why was the Common Agricultural Policy created?

One of the biggest challenges for Europe after World War II was tackling food shortages. The leaders of the then Economic Community considered it necessary to act in order for the Old Continent to become self-sufficient in food, to ensure an adequate supply of food markets, a continuous flow of food and agricultural products within Europe.

For this reason, the six founding members of the Economic Community (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) in 1962 created the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which is the longest-running policy of the European Union.

Ποιες είναι οι περιβαλλοντικές επιπτώσεις της Κοινής Αγροτικής Πολιτικής;

Χωρίς καμία αμφιβολία, με την εισαγωγή των αγροπεριβαλλοντικών μέτρων και των οικολογικών σχημάτων στην ΚΑΠ γίνεται μία προσπάθεια ώστε να αντισταθμιστούν οι επιπτώσεις που έχει η βιομηχανοποιημένη γεωργία προς το περιβάλλον. Ωστόσο, δεν μπορούν να μην αναφερθούν οι αρνητικές συνέπειες της ΚΑΠ. 

Το Φεβρουάριο του 2020 η Βρετανική Οικολογική Κοινότητα δημοσίευσε επιστημονικό άρθρο με την ευρεία υποστήριξη της επιστημονικής κοινότητας (3600 υπογραφές υποστήριξης της δημοσίευσης) που αναφέρει ότι η ΚΑΠ στηρίζει μια ποικιλία πρακτικών που συμβάλλουν στην ευρεία κλίμακας απώλεια της βιοποικιλότητας, την κλιματική αλλαγή, τη διάβρωση και την υποβάθμιση του εδάφους. Οι συγγραφείς υποστηρίζουν ότι τα αγροπεριβαλλοντικά μέτρα που έχουν ενταχθεί στην ΚΑΠ και θα μπορούσαν να συμβάλλουν στην αντιμετώπιση των πιο πάνω προβλημάτων είναι ανεπαρκή και δεν χρηματοδοτούνται όσο θα έπρεπε.  Το επιστημονικό άρθρο μπορείτε να το βρείτε στο σύνδεσμο: https://bit.ly/3JixjZh .

Κάθε κράτος μέλος της ΕΕ είναι υποχρεωμένο να διενεργήσει Στρατηγική Μελέτη Εκτίμησης Επιπτώσεων για το Περιβάλλον (ΣΜΕΕΠ) για την ΚΑΠ.  Η τελευταία ΣΜΕΕΠ (https://bit.ly/3sv02mV) για την εφαρμογή της ΚΑΠ στην  Κύπρο έγινε το 2014 και τα αποτελέσματά της έδειξαν αρνητικά αποτελέσματα για:

– την ανάσχεση της απώλειας της βιοποικιλότητας και την αποκατάσταση των υπηρεσιών οικοσυστημάτων, 

– τη διατήρηση της ποικιλομορφίας του αγροτικού τοπίου, 

– τις Περιοχές Υψηλής Φυσικής Αξίας, και

– την ποιότητα σύστασης του εδάφους μέσω ρύθμισης των επιπέδων ρύπανσης λόγω γεωργικών δραστηριοτήτων.  

What is the environmental impact of CAP?

Without a doubt, with the introduction of agri-environmental measures and ecological schemes in the CAP, an effort is being made to offset the impact that industrialized agriculture has on the environment. However, the negative consequences of the CAP can not be ignored.

In February 2020, the British Ecological Community published a scientific article with the broad support of the scientific community (3600 signatures in support of the publication) stating that the CAP supports a variety of practices that contribute to large-scale biodiversity loss, climate change and climate change. soil degradation. The authors argue that the agri-environmental measures that have been included in the CAP and could help address the above problems are insufficient and are not funded as much as they should be. The scientific article can be found at the link: https://bit.ly/3JixjZh

Each EU Member State is required to carry out a Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the CAP. The last SMEEP (https://bit.ly/3sv02mV) for the implementation of the CAP in Cyprus took place in 2014 and its results showed negative results for:

-halting biodiversity loss and restoring ecosystem services,

-preserving the diversity of the rural landscape,

-the Areas of High Natural Value, and

-the quality of soil composition through regulation of pollution levels due to agricultural activities.