“Best practices” for the CAP after 2027.

The European Commission has published new guidelines titled Good practices for agri-environmental and climate measures under the CAP beyond 2027. They concern the design of measures to protect the environment, including water, and the climate in the next programming period of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for 2028-2034. The guidelines encourage a shift to incentive support, stronger targeting and simplification in the implementation of agri-environmental and climate measures.

Good practices emphasize targeted results-based payments, holistic environmental approaches and advisory services to ensure systemic transformation in agriculture and improve resilience to climate change.

EC guidelines – a simpler framework for sustainable agriculture

The guidelines published by the European Commission are based on the experience of the implementation of the current CAP Strategic Plans for 2023-2027, and aim to assist member states in preparing future agri-environmental and climate measures by indicating recommendations, practical steps and effective, feasible and attractive examples of measures for farmers.

The authors of the guidelines indicate that currently approx. 40 percent. CAP funds are directed toward ecoschemes and agro-environmental-climate measures. In addition, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) notes that by 2024, ecoschemes covered more than 60 percent of the European Union’s agricultural areas, with long-term commitments for another 12 percent. This contributes to the protection of the environment and the rural landscape.

Good practices – a new approach under the CAP

The European Commission is proposing a simplified structure focused on new measures that will combine current ecoschemes and agri-environmental-climate commitments. The updated approach is expected to simplify the policy framework and improve the effectiveness of the support provided. It will also include:

• an agricultural care system that combines conservation practices with statutory management requirements;
• Support for green investments, both productive and non-productive, to improve resource efficiency and agricultural competitiveness;
• complementary tools, such as consulting services, innovation, digitization and collaboration projects to support the transformation.

Agri-environmental and climate measures in the new CAP

Agri-environmental and climate measures in the post-2027 CAP are expected to reward farmers for adopting environmentally beneficial practices (beyond existing requirements), make them more attractive, and contribute to the development of sustainable and resilient farming systems. Payments will not have to result from additional costs and loss of income. This is to allow environmental services that comply with World Trade Organization rules, categorized under the so-called Green Box, to be rewarded.

The guidelines indicate the main factors that are expected to contribute to the effectiveness of future agro-environmental and climate measures. These include:

• Clear and well-designed practices, combined with appropriate incentives;
• Strong farmer involvement and consistency between interventions;
• Resources for regional, environmental and farm needs;
• Outcome-based approaches that reward measurable results;
• Collective approaches that enable action at the landscape level;
• Monitoring and control systems to ensure reliability and dependability.

Forty-three percent of EU spending on future National and Regional Partnership Plans (NPPs) is expected to be spent on implementing activities that contribute to climate and environmental goals.

Water quality – nutrient management – tips for the future

Nutrients, mainly nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), are essential for plant growth and increased crop quality and quantity. Supplied in fertilizers, they are not always fully utilized by plants, resulting in water pollution.

The guidelines identify actions and practices to improve nutrient management. These include:

• Maintain and increase soil health and fertility and reduce nutrient losses to water through: soil cover; crop diversification and enhanced crop rotation with legumes; and the use of intercropping to increase green manure and soil organic matter content;
• Maintaining diversified farms with crops and livestock – improves nutrient cycling;
• Reducing ammonia emissions from fertilizers, such as through rapid absorption of fertilizer into the soil and appropriate timing and methods of fertilizer application, and improving the mineralization of organic nitrogen in the soil;
• Extensification of animal husbandry, i.e., reducing stocking rates and improving grassland management;
• Use of organic fertilizers (manure, compost, bio-waste). The use of manure and its processing products can help farmers close the nutrient cycle and make them independent of fluctuating mineral fertilizer prices;
• Increasing nutrient use efficiency through precision agriculture; incorporating legumes into crop rotations and implementing nutrient management plans more widely. The use of inhibitors, low-release fertilizers and plant biostimulants can also help increase efficiency and thus reduce nutrient inputs used to optimize yields;
• Modernization of agricultural buildings and equipment, e.g.: improving the efficiency of animal husbandry filters; fertilizer application equipment, including precision agriculture, digital tools and software; manure collection systems and upgrading livestock buildings to reduce ammonia emissions. These activities will be supported by investment in the future programming period.

Lessons for the future

According to the European Commission, environmentally sustainable agriculture will remain a priority for the CAP in the coming years.

In terms of design and implementation, the guidelines recommend:

• Promoting measures to implement beneficial agricultural practices for all types of land use (arable land, grassland, permanent crops), maximizing environmental and climate benefits in pursuit of sustainable development;
• Maintaining beneficial practices of farmers providing environmental services (e.g., organic farming, extensive grassland management);
• Implementing animal health and welfare support programs to meet new requirements arising from the regulatory review, particularly in terms of moving away from confinement farming systems;
• Supporting the transition to environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient agricultural systems, such as national certification schemes, organic, regenerative and other holistic agriculture;
• Establish payments tailored to the efforts and risks faced by farmers, as well as to the territorial context, in order to increase the commitment of farm owners and contribute to increasing their income;
• Developing action packages that include several practices to reduce the impact on all natural resources and biodiversity;
• Developing holistic farm programs, which will provide a wide range of farming practices with different levels of requirements and different environmental goals, as well as flexibility and incentives for further action;
• Strengthening the capacity of advisory services to guide the transformation of agriculture toward more innovative, resilient and sustainable solutions;
• Develop comprehensive strategies using CAP tools, such as combining Natura 2000 and Water Framework Directive payments (where applicable), green and non-productive investments, capacity-building activities, and cooperative projects;
• Increasing farmers’ participation in the planning process for future agri-environmental and climate measures to improve their effectiveness and gain acceptance.

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In writing the article, I used :

https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/media/news/driving-sustainable-farming-new-guidance-cap-2028-2034-2026-04-28_en

https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/document/download/14f2041b-c7a3-481f-8bb1-5e317c38a1d3_en?filename=best-practices-climate-actions-cap-post-2027_en.pdf