The draft amendment to the regulation of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on ecological payments has been submitted for consultation. The new regulations will enable farmers to receive ecological payments for fallow land in 2024.
A draft amendment to the regulation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on the detailed conditions and detailed procedure for granting and paying financial assistance in the form of ecological payments under the Strategic Plan for the common agricultural policy for 2023-2027 was submitted for consultation. The project was published on the website of the Government Legislation Center.
According to plan
The proposed regulation is an implementation of the authorization contained in the Act on the Strategic Plan for the Common Agricultural Policy for 2023-2027. It is intended to ensure the possibility of granting farmers ecological payments for 2024 in cases where in this year they use parts of the area covered by the ecological commitment for the purposes of meeting the GAEC 8 ecological standard in the wording in force before May 25, 2024, when the amendment to the Act on Strategic Plan – indicated in the project justification.
The currently applicable provisions of the Ecological Regulation provide that, as part of the ecological obligations carried out by farmers, ecological payments may be granted to land fallow without production if the land remains in the organic farming system and is under the control of a certification body.
Change for farmers
“The proposed change is beneficial for farmers because, even though the wording of the GAEC 8 standard will be changed, they will have the opportunity to apply for ecological payments if they have planned to meet this standard in 2024 on land covered by the ecological commitment,” we read in the justification.
As indicated, failure to implement the proposed change would prevent farmers from being granted ecological payments for 2024 for meeting the GAEC 8 standard for land fallow without production.
The amendment to the Act on the Strategic Plan signed by the president on Thursday introduced a simplified form of subsidies for small farms and voluntary set-aside for an additional payment, i.e. the so-called ecoschemas. It implements previous decisions of the European Commission and the EU Council. The main goal of the changes is to implement new forms of support in the years 2024-2028, i.e. payments for small farms and a new eco-scheme regarding fallow land.
In accordance with the amendment
The amended Act provides that in relation to the 2024 campaign, the farmer must first submit an application for direct payments within the basic deadline, under the currently applicable rules, and only from the date of entry into force of the Act until August 31, 2024 will he be able to apply for payments to small farms and eco-schemes.
The amendment also introduces a new type of payment under eco-schemes – it concerns the standard (GAEC 8) – maintaining good agricultural culture consistent with environmental protection. It’s about fallowing 4%. area of the farm’s agricultural land. Farmers who decide to exclude part of their land from production will receive money for it. According to estimates of the Ministry of Agriculture, approximately 600,000 people may benefit from it. farmers, i.e. approx. 48 percent people applying for direct payments.
