Farm income support – new Policy Insights publication
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A new Policy Insights article confirms that more than 60% of the CAP budget provides income support for EU farmers through direct payments and funds for farms in areas with constraints.
A newly published edition of the EU CAP Networks’ informative short-read Policy Insights publication series clarifies that a majority of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget has always been provided to European farmers through direct payments and that this funding has evolved over the policy’s lifetime to become known as income support.
New features of income support within CAP Strategic Plans (CSPs) are designed to promote sustainable food systems through social, environmental and climate conditionality, while also enabling a fairer distribution of financing for farmers across the EU through targeting mechanisms.
Farmers face significant income challenges from climate and market uncertainties that Member States recognise in their national CSPs. These all contain common policy intervention tools designed to support viable farm income using direct payments and assistance for areas with natural or other specific constraints (ANC).
This Policy Insights article examines the seven income support interventions available through the CSPs. It provides many useful links to learn more and explore relevant resources to better understand and grasp these opportunities. The article also includes an example of direct payments — CAP support for a small family farm in Spain’s Extremadura region.