Source: European Parliament
To attract and sustain young farmers, supporting generational renewal in agriculture, is a high priority under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) with a number of tools and interventions available to achieve this objective.
The legislation requires from Member States to dedicate an amount equal to at least 3% of their national direct payments envelope to supporting young farmers.
Member States include in their CAP Strategic Plans (CSPs) different tools (called interventions) to encourage and support young people into farming, such as: complementary income support for young farmers; setting-up grants; investment support with higher intensity rates of up to 80%; support for intergenerational exchange.
The conditions and criteria for support are defined at the national level. The CPSs reflect the different approaches of Member States in providing support to young farmers through the combination of available tools, dedicated resources and prioritisation of support.
To improve the consistency of EU and national actions, the Member States provide in their CPSs an overview of all (EU and national) interventions and policies related to young farmers.
Potential new actions at EU level, will be discussed when preparing the legislative proposals that will accompany the proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework in 2025.
According to targets set currently in the Member States’ CPSs, the CAP aims to help around 377 000 young farmers start farming over the 2023-2027 period, with a total budget of EUR 8.5 billion.
The Commission launched an online dashboard to show the targets set at national level approved in the CSPs, as well as targets at EU level[1].
- [1] https://agridata.ec.europa.eu/extensions/DataPortal/pmef_indicators.html