56 Amendments of Tom VANDENKENDELAERE related to 2022/2182(INI)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas in 2020, a majority (57.6 %) of farm managers (all genders) were at least 55 years of age and approximately only 10 % of farm managers were under 40 years old of which nearly half are between 35 and 39 years old meaning that these farmers are concentrated in the last age group to be considered as a young farmer;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A g (new)
Recital A g (new)
Ag. Whereas generational renewal requires maintaining young people from agricultural backgrounds in this professional path but also encouraging newcomers to the sector ;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. Whereas the renewal of generations on farms is also a cornerstone of European strategic autonomy and food security;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A e (new)
Recital A e (new)
Ae. Whereas an increasing regulatory burden also impacts on farmers' predictability and willingness to commit to a farm;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. Whereas access to land, financing for setting up and farm income are major challenges for attracting young farmers in all Member States ; considering farm income remains below the average for other professions in almost all EU Member States ;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
Ad. Whereas the import of agricultural products of a lower standard than those produced in Europe is also an obstacle to the ability to obtain fair prices and returns on the market ; whereas this could constitutes a brake on setting up ;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A f (new)
Recital A f (new)
Af. Whereas some sectors are more concerned than others about generational renewal, particularly livestock ;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses that generational renewal is key for the future social, economic and environmental sustainability of rural areas and EU food autonomy, as well asin particular for the future of agriculture and the traditionalfamily farmily farming model and other existing models in Europe, such as jointly run farms ;
Amendment 63 #
3. Highlights that young farmers and new entrants are more likely to introduce innovative business ideas and implement sustainable farming practices;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that a fair and dignified incomedecent income, being able to cover production costs, profitability and quality of life for farmers and their families isare essential in attracting young and new people to the sector; stresses also that a stable legal framework is also needed to ensure legal and economic stability for young people settling in;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that the price and availability of land, low profitability, climate change, overtransposition, administrative requirements and the image of the sector were identified as the main barriers to becoming a farmer11; _________________ 11 European Commission, ‘Public consultation results on the CAP reform’, 2017.
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Emphasizes that the attractiveness of the agricultural sector is strongly insufficient as a result of high entry thresholds, a lack of societal appreciation and insufficient income;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Emphasizes that identified thresholds should be eliminated and that the policy framework should provide long- term certainty to young farmers, in relation to the long-term investments made, to increase the attractiveness of the agricultural sector;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. insists on the need to find a balance between the heritage value and the economic value of the farm;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. recalls that generational renewal cannot be achieved without attracting new people from outside agriculture and that it is therefore necessary to attract them from a very young age and to be able to advise and guide them towards the farming profession ;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Recognises the complex and multi- layered nature of the generational renewal process, which is influenced by factors related to the private sphere of the farmer, the characteristics of the farm, the policy framework, the economic context and support measures and the wider social context, all of which should be acknowledged when designing policies ; stresses that when a young farmer is adequately supported, both financially and human, for setting up, the retention rate for young farmers is higher ;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Recognises the complex and multi- layered nature of the generational renewal process, which is influenced by factors related to the private sphere of the farmer, the characteristics of the farm, the policy framework, the economic reality, such as the labour market, access to finance and low profitability, and support measures and the wider social context, all of which should be acknowledged when designing policies;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Member States and the European Commission to develop coherent and long-term strategies to promote generational change and to increase the attractiveness of the agricultural sector for young people, combining different measures in a complementary way, such as installation aid, financial support, tax breaks and incentives, to improve links between EU policies and national and regional policies;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Member States to develop long term and coherent strategies to promote generational change and attractivity of agricultural sector, combining different measures in a complementary way, such as financial support, setting up support, tax breaks and incentives, to improve links between EU policies and national and regional policies;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. invites the Member States to set up an installation pathway with advisers or support structures ;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Member States to promote innovative models of intergenerational collaboration, such as partnerships, non-family generational renewal projects, share farming or land- matching services;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. stresses the positive role of a gradual installation and calls for the removal of existing legal obstacles in this respect ;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Stresses the importance of preserving farmland and the objectives of sustainable food production; calls on the Commission to launch a study on the effects of competing uses for farmland, such as urbanisation and, energy, nature restoration, on the quantity and quality of farmland available and on prices and excessive land concentration, while also evaluating the impacts of all relevant EU policy areas in this regard; Stresses that the development of activities related to agricultural production can contribute to a better profitability of farms ;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Stresses the importance of preserving farmland and the objectives of sustainable food production; calls on the Commission to launchconduct a study on the effects of competing uses for farmland, such as urbanisation and energy, on the quantity and quality of farmland available and on prices and land concentration, while also evaluating the impacts of all relevant EU policy areas in this regard; calls on the Commission to conduct a study on the certainty of long-term usage of farmlands by young farmers;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote a model based on the bioeconomy as a virtuous system that can contribute to farmers’ incomes; calls also for encouraging the eco-system services role of livestock farming, which can contribute to a virtuous carbon cycle;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Stresses that legislation on low- carbon agriculture can provide a positive incentive to ensure better remuneration for farmers, especially the youngest, through measures to sequestration and reduce emissions on farms;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on the Commission to evaluate the possibility of action at EU level, including through legislative instruments, to improve the functioning of farmland markets with a view to achieving better access to farmlands for young farmers; calls on the Commission to analyse existing best practices in the Member States;
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on the Commission to evaluate the possibility of action at EU level, including through legislative instruments, to improve the functioning of farmland markets, to improve young farmers’ access to agricultural land;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls on the Commission to assess the regulation of land markets in the Member States and to assess their impact on the farms competitiveness ;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls on the Member States to regulate agricultural land markets in order to promote land access for young farmers by all means available, such as limiting the loss of farmlands, tax incentives, pre- emptive rights in favour of young farmers, long-term usage guarantees, price controls, acquisition caps or obligations to maintain agricultural activity;
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls on the Member States to regulate agricultural land markets in order to promote land access for young farmers by all means available, such as, in particular, pre- emptive rights in favour of young farmers, price controls, acquisition caps or obligations to maintain agricultural activity;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls on the Member States to ensure the transparency of the rural land market, while maintaining up-to date public information on land markets and land planning, communicating about land sales and monitorfighting land concentration;
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Commission to establish an EU observatory on farmland, as part of the Rural Observatory, to monitor, in particular, trends and prices for land sale and rental, as well as changes in farmland use, and to ensure greater transparency of agricultural land transactions in the EU;
Amendment 253 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Underlines that the valorisation of farmers within the agri-food value chain is a sine qua non condition for the creation of sufficient income for the agricultural world ; calls on the Commission for further analysis of Member States’ implementation of Directive (EU) 2019/633 on unfair commercial practices in business-to- business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain ; encourages Member States to ensure greater protection of farmers by ensuring effective and dissuasive sanctions against unfair practices within the agri-food value chain ;
Amendment 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)
Paragraph 20 b (new)
20b. Invites Member States to build effective insurance systems adapted to the specificities of the agricultural sector in order to support farmers in the face of natural disasters ; believes that such mechanisms will provide greater financial and legal certainty for farmers, facilitating the setting up of young farmers ;
Amendment 265 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Calls on the Member States to make start-up and investment aid for young farmers available throughout the entire budgetary period and to support access to training opportunities, namely on soft skills and digital and sustainable farming methods, in particular for new entrants;
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22b. Calls on the Commission to promote the image of the sector by carrying out communication campaigns to encourage young people to turn to the agricultural professions ;
Amendment 276 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Encourages the Member States to design mechanisms to facilitate the transition to retirement in order to transfer farms in good conditions ;
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 c (new)
Paragraph 22 c (new)
22c. Insists on initial and continuing lifelong learning and supports that Member States put in place systems of support for setting up, subject to a minimum level of diploma training with a view to improving skills and qualifications in order to exploit, inter alia, the opportunities offered by new technologies, new genomic editing techniques and precision agriculture; calls on the Member States, in particular in the context of school programs, to transmit a greater knowledge of agricultural-related occupations and, more generally, to ensure a better understanding of the reality of the agricultural world ;
Amendment 285 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Amendment 286 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Insists that young peoplefarmers must be involved and given the ability to participate in political life and decision-making processes to ensure that their specific needs are accounted for and that policies provide effective support for their development;
Amendment 289 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Calls on the European Commission and the Member States to provide sufficient resources and guidance to encourage education at primary school on agricultural topics and to incentivise primary and secondary schools to go on farm visits, as it brings children and young people into contact with the agricultural sector in the region from an early age and further reduces the gap between citizen and farmer; Emphasizes that it is important that farmers receive a fair share of these resources for organising these visits and thus taking up a societal function; Firmly believes that this will bring young people more in touch with the sector and, in the long term, can contribute to greater interest among young people for the agricultural sector;
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop training schools on accountability and public engagement, based on the example of management schools ;
Amendment 292 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)
Paragraph 24 b (new)
24b. insist on the necessity to ensure the representativeness of young farmers through trade unions and organisations ;
Amendment 299 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to factor in the young farmers dimension horizontally when designing policies and funding instruments; legislation, strategies and funding instruments by implementing a socio-economic ‘young farmers check’ in all upcoming agricultural, rural, climate or environmental legislation to assess the potential impact on young farmers and the generational renewal in the agricultural sector before launching the proposal; This ‘young farmers check’ should clearly analyse and map the impact of the legislation, strategy or funding on (1) the income of young farmers, (2) the entrepreneurial confidence of young farmers, (3) the access of young farmers to farmland, (4) the mental wellbeing of young farmers, (5) administrative and regulatory burden on young farmers; If an upcoming legislation or policy proposal have a negative impact on any of these elements, it should be adjusted before the proposal is launched; Calls on the Commission to apply this socio-economic young farmers check to existing legislation as well;
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to factor in the young farmers dimension horizontally when designing policies and funding instruments; calls on the Commission to set up a “young farmers” test in all new policies and in particular in the context of impact assessments to analyse and predict the consequences of these policies on the dynamics of setting up on the basis of the model of the SMEs test or the Rural proofing test, this test could include criteria like by example : - the average income of young farmers; - an index relating to the entrepreneurial confidence of young farmers; - young farmer's access to agricultural land; - the mental well-being of young farmers; - the debt ratio of young farmers;
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Calls on Member States to set up a one-stop shop system to facilitate administrative procedures in the most appropriate territorial area ;
Amendment 318 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Considers that young farmers and new entrants should be able to develop their businesses progressively and therefore recommends that the current time limit placed on access support in the common agricultural policy be reviewedo assess the existing administrative and legal barriers ;
Amendment 323 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Underlines the role of cooperatives and farmer organisations in helping young farmers overcome barriers, providing guidance services and enhancing their participation in the policy dialogue; calls for the gender-balanced representation of young farmers’ in their governance bodies to be ensured; calls for particular attention to be paid to the role of women in the development of agriculture;
Amendment 330 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Stresses the need to ensure the development of skills in agricultural jobs, which will enable farmers to better understand their installation project, to anticipate future production conditions and expectations of consumers and customers through the search for environmental and economic performance;
Amendment 333 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Insists on the need to ensure adequate working and living conditions and social protection for youngall farm workers, in particular women and migrant workersmanagers and their employees with particular attention to women and their health ;
Amendment 338 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. Calls on the Member States to encourage jointly run farms which offer more flexibility in the organisation between private and professional life, and in particular for livestock farming ;
Amendment 339 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 b (new)
Paragraph 31 b (new)
31b. Calls on the Member States to develop systems for the replacement of farmers or any farming employees, in the event of illness, accident or, in order to ensure a better balance between working and private life for farmers;
Amendment 340 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Insists that rural areas must be able to provide adequate living conditions for young and new farmers and their families, namely better mobility, access to better education, health, leisure and culture services, and broader digital connectivity; welcomes the increasing number of agricultural students participating to the Erasmus+ programme and calls on the Member States to further encourage exchanges between European agricultural schools to promote the mobility of future farmers within the EU;