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Funding opportunities under the Common
Agricultural Policy
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Direct payments support farmers' incomes without being
linked to production in return for them respecting standards
of environmental protection, animal welfare, food safety and
keeping the land in good condition. Rural Development
funding helps to improve competitiveness for farming and
forestry, to protect the environment and the countryside, to
improve the quality of life and diversification of the rural
economy and to support locally based approaches to rural
development. |
Direct payments and market measures
Direct payments
If you are an EU farmer and land manager, you are most likely eligible to receive
direct payments, the major form of EU funding in agriculture.
The 2003 reform of the Common Agricultural Policy introduced a
new system of direct payments, known as the
Single Payment Scheme,
under which aid is no longer linked to production. The main aim
of the single payment is to support farmers' incomes in return
for them
respecting standards of environmental protection, animal
welfare, food safety and keeping the land in good condition.
Farmers are encouraged to take their decisions based on market
signals.
More on the Single Payment Scheme
Under certain limited conditions, Member States may decide to
reduce the value of payment entitlements and continue to make
direct payments linked to production.
Market measures
Specific support schemes have been introduced or maintained for
a number of products such as durum wheat, protein crops, rice, nuts,
energy crops, starch potatoes, milk and milk products, seeds,
cotton, tobacco, olive groves and grain legumes. Traders and
processors can, under certain conditions, receive export refunds as
well as processing and transformation subsidies. You can find a list
of these measures in the budget of the EU under the title
"Interventions in agricultural markets".
Rural Development
Under the Rural Development policy 2007-2013, the EU will
contribute over €96 billion to Member States investments to improve competitiveness for farming
and forestry, to protect the environment and the countryside, to
improve the quality of life and diversification of the rural
economy. A fourth area (Leader) introduces funding opportunities
for locally based approaches to rural development.
More
on the Rural Development policy 2007-2013
What are the main funding instruments?
The agricultural expenditure is financed by two funds, which form
part of the EU's general budget: the European Agricultural
Guarantee Fund (EAGF) finances direct payments to farmers and
measures to regulate agricultural markets such as intervention and
export refunds, while the European Agricultural Fund for Rural
Development (EAFRD) finances the rural development programmes of
the Member States.
The Commission itself normally does not make payments to
beneficiaries. According to the principle of
shared management, this task is delegated to the Member
States.
Direct payments and market measures
Direct payments and market measures are administered through paying agencies appointed
by
national authorities.
To be eligible for the single payment, a farmer requires payment
entitlements
and land. Entitlements are calculated on the basis of the
payments received by
the farmer during a reference period (historical model) or the
number of eligible
hectares farmed (regional model).
Rural Development
These funds are distributed through programmes run by national
governments:
the member state designates the Managing Authority whose task at
project
management level is to inform potential beneficiaries of how to
get support, which rules apply and what EU contribution is available.
More
on the national Rural Development Programmes
How to apply?
Please contact the Ministry of
Agriculture in your country or your local agricultural
association. Links
to the Agriculture Ministries
Other funding
The only permanent CAP funding scheme which is centrally managed
by the Commission is the scheme
"Information measures relating
to the Common Agricultural Policy".
More
on the CAP information measures scheme
Besides grants awarded following calls for proposals, the
Agriculture and Rural Development Directorate-General also
concludes public procurement contracts for the provision of
services. These contracts are concluded following calls for
tenders.
More on calls for tender
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Details and related information:
Beneficiaries of CAP
payments
Financing the CAP
Budget
Clearance of accounts [pdf]
Direct payments
Rural
Development policy 2007-2013
Agricultural Funds Committee
Ministries
for Agriculture in the Member States
Grants for information measures relating to the Common Agricultural
Policy
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