The European Parliament has just approved the new Common Agricultural Policy, which has essential aid for the agricultural sector and which will enter into force in 2023 for the period 2023-2027.
The European Union wants to slow down the aging of the countryside, since a third of agricultural and livestock workers are over 64 years old. For this reason, it is committed to financial aid for the entry of young people into the field, as well as for the modernization of the facilities.
10% of these grants, which in total will allocate 360 billion euros, are aimed at small and medium-sized farms. In addition, this new CAP will give priority to young people and will give specific payments to farmers who adopt ecological practices such as organic farming, crop rotation and conservation of carbon-rich soils.
33% of agricultural workers are over 64 years old
Aid for the 2023-2027 period is still pending approval, as it is still The Strategic Plan of the CAP 2023-2027 is in the public information period (Each country has to specify the aid in their respective sectoral plans), until February 4. The provisional document can be consulted here.
But if you want to access now, you can contact the body of each autonomous community, which are the ones that finally manage the funds, including other independent ones from Europeans. In each community the current aid can be consulted.
However, and as a guideline, for aid from the last period, called ‘basic payment rights’, the general requirements were these:
Youth Aid:
– Be 40 years of age or older
– Be the owner of an agricultural or livestock facility, such as the cases that we reflect in the video. Both have received aid from the Cantabria Livestock Council, which asks to prove what is called the condition of “active farmer”.
– Accredit sufficient training and qualification to develop an agricultural activity.
– That the exploitation has started a maximum of five calendar years before the year of the first presentation of an application.
– Not having exercised agricultural activity in the five seasons prior to the date considered as the first installation.
But there are also aids for farmers over 40 who start farming. Requirements:
– Accredit sufficient training and qualification for an agricultural activity.
– That the exploitation has started a maximum of two calendar years before the year of the first presentation of an application.
– Not having exercised agricultural activity in the five years prior to the date considered as its first installation.
You can find more information on the website of the Spanish Agrarian Guarantee Fund (COWARDLY), which links to all autonomous organisms.
Rancher with 22 years
The cases of Jairo and the Del Campo brothers, which you can see in the video above, give an example of how young farmers are getting ahead thanks to European aid.
Jairo, at 22 years old, has launched into in charge of his family’s livestock, an activity that, he admits, “I liked since I was little.”
Another one that we show is the one run by the Del Campo brothers together with Montse, third generation ranchers that he has modernized the farm for the welfare of his cows. Now they have a robot that brings food to them and a machine to milk them, connected in turn to a mobile application that offers detailed information on each one.
“The cows have much more comfort than in the previous warehouse”, says Santiago del Campo, who assures that this new construction, “aimed at the welfare of the cows”, has brought with it an increase in production.
Even so, these farmers point out, the milk sector has a basic problem, and that is that product prices are so low that they do not cover production costs, and this does not motivate young people to enter the sector. The solution to this problem would be to increase the final price, as explained by Jacobo Alonso, another farmer: “Ten cents per liter, which would be idyllic, is seven euros a year for the consumer.”
In this way, a fair payment could be reached that could attract new farmers, as Guillermo Blanco, Minister of Livestock, Food and Environment of Cantabria maintains: “See that the people who dedicate themselves to it can live.” That is why European funds are essential for the sustainability of the sector.
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
