La MEP of the Popular Party Carmen Crespo has presented this Monday in the Agriculture Commission the Report on the future of agriculture and the Common Agricultural Policy post-2027, of which he is the rapporteur. And he has done so, proposing “a Competitive and simplified CAP which will come to give a greater resilience to European producers for addressing the global challenges of market volatility, climate change, lack of generational change or depopulation of rural areas.”
This is why Crespo has defended that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post-2027 must “Protect direct aid to all European professional farmers, regardless of the size or type of production, including multi-active products.”
In this regard, the MEP explained that “The new CAP must be a driving force for a modern, competitive and strong agricultural sector, capable of facing the global challenges it currently faces without losing its productive essence, especially in this complex geopolitical moment and a policy of imposing unfair tariffs,” the MEP said.
A fair and adequate CAP requires more budget
Furthermore, the Deputy Coordinator of the Committee on Agriculture in the EPP Group has opted for “a larger budget for the CAP"that allows"ensure a fair and stable income for those directly involved in agricultural activity." Furthermore, in his opinion, "incentives should be prioritized over obligations in this new CAP, and voluntary action should be prioritized in those matters that have come to reduce agricultural profitability."
Crespo also stressed the need to "improve synergies and coordination between EU funding instruments" and advocated for "separating the cohesion policy pillar from the future CAP," although he argued that they should be "closely coordinated."
During the defense of his report, Crespo stressed the “importance of increase the Agricultural Reserve to address unpredictable market distortions and the effects of climate change, such as floods and droughts that are becoming more common in Europe.”
In this regard, the MEP has made a statement about the importance of “putting water at the heart of agricultural policies”, considering that “investing in water infrastructure must be a priority to promote sustainable irrigation systems and the advancement of water-efficient technologies.” In this regard, he stated that “it is crucial to promote the use of reclaimed and desalinated water to ensure an adequate water balance and thus protect food sovereignty.”
Generational change and innovation
One of the great challenges of the agricultural sector, and the final objective of this proposal is the generational relief, for which it is essential to "promote policies that favor young people's access to the agricultural sector, with tax incentives, access to credit, and measures that facilitate land transfers," the MEP stressed.
Crespo also highlighted the need to "put the innovation at the forefront of the agricultural sector through digitalization, the advancement of new genetic editing techniques (NGT) to obtain more resilient and efficient crops”
Likewise, Carmen Crespo's report comes to recognize the benefits of circular economy In the agricultural sector, through carbon credits or biogas, with the aim of providing supplements to agricultural income.
The rapporteur for the post-27 CAP report acknowledged the diversity of production models in the European Union, ranging from dryland to irrigated, including intensive, traditional, and pastoral systems. This "is key to ensuring income stability and economic viability in all EU regions," Crespo added.
Farmers as the backbone of the CAP
He also called for strengthening the position of farmers in the agri-food chain, promoting a more equitable distribution of margins"The reform of the CMO and the Unfair Trading Practices Directive are key to improving the position of farmers by simplifying and speeding up the procedures for granting exceptional aid."
Finally, he defended the need to create a European labeling that identifies products of quality to the consumer, moving towards reciprocity in trade agreements and highlighting the role of farmers and cooperatives, OPFH and OP in rural entrepreneurship and the EU economy itself.
