43 Amendments of Carmen AVRAM related to 2022/2182(INI)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 a (new)
Citation 20 a (new)
– having regard to "The challenge of land abandonment after 2020 and options for mitigating measures" report, published by the Policy Department for Structural and Cohesion Policies Directorate-General for Internal Policies, 2020;
Amendment 9 #
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; whereas a relatively high proportion of farmers have 65 years of age or more in many Member States;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas in 2016, for every farm manager under 40 in the EU there were three farm managers over 65;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A e (new)
Recital A e (new)
Ae. whereas almost all EU regions are experiencing a steady increase in average farm sizes and a concentration of production on fewer and larger farms; whereas the number of farms in EU-27 declined between 2013 and 2016 from about 15 to 10 million (-32%) with the strongest decline being among small farms 1a; _________________ 1a The Future of the European Farming Model: Socio-economic and territorial implications of the decline in the number of farms and farmers in the EU, 2022
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas generational renewal is related to land abandonment and would require a joint strategic approach;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas farms run by managers of 40 years old or younger have the lowest income on average at EU level and that farms run by women have lower incomes in comparison with men 1a; _________________ 1a EU Farm economics overview, 2021
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas in 2020 slightly more than two thirds (68.4%) of farm managers in the EU’s 9.1 million holdings were male;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
Ad. whereas young farmers had higher levels of educational attainment in terms of full agricultural training (21.4 % vs 3.6 % for over 65 year olds) and had followed up-to-date professional training courses including those on new and innovative farming practices1a; _________________ 1a https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics- explained/index.php?title=Farmers_and_t he_agricultural_labour_force_- _statistics#Young_farmers_remain_scarc e:_female_farmers_a_continuing_minorit y_but_share_increasing
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
Ad. whereas 72.3% of farm managers in the EU in 2020 had only practical experience, while barely 10.2% had full agricultural training and the remaining 17.5% only basic agricultural training;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas farming remains a predominantly family activity as in 2020 almost nine in ten (86.1%) people who worked regularly in agriculture in the EU were the sole holder (farmer) or members of his/her family;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas remoteness is an important element of difficulty in rural areas, involving relevant aspects of life, therefore mountainous areas are in dire need for a coherent process of generational renewal in the agricultural sector;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses that generational renewal and intergenerational continuity is key for the social, economic and environmental sustainability of rural areas and EU food autonomy, as well as for the future of agriculture and the traditional family farming model;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Points out that the low level of intergenerational renewal in farming, while part of a larger trend of demographic decline, is a general EU concern for the sector, affecting particularly remote rural areas; ;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that a fair and dignified income and quality of life for farmers and their families is essential in attracting young and new people to the sector and that Member States must devote at least 3% of their direct payments envelope to this objective;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that a fair and dignified income, a full process of flattening the value of CAP entitlements across the EU and quality of life for farmers and their families isare equally essential in attracting young and new people to the sector;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. 6. Recalls that although the number of new entrants from outside the agricultural sector is growing, intra- family succession is still the dominant form of entry into farming;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Points out that the Court of Justice of the European Union has been recognising in its rulings the specific nature of agricultural land as well as a set of public interests and objectives that can justify the establishment of land market regulation measures;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Underlines that fears of retirement, primarily due to inadequate safety nets for pensioners, leads older farmers to use direct payments as a form of support in retirement and retain land;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Acknowledges the positive effect of CAP young’s farmers measures on the number of young farmers, in particular those located in more peripheral rural areas 1a; _________________ 1a SWD (2021) 78 final
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8c. Highlights the positive contribution of LEADER projects and initiatives to social inclusion and to challenges faced by young people, notably when prioritising youth in selection criteria and in setting up youth local action groups;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Regrets that young people in rural areas experience significant daily challenges, particularly as regards education, access to quality jobs, social isolation, public transport, healthcare and digital connectivity, especially in remote, mountainous and less developed rural regions;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Acknowledges the higher risk of depopulation, farm and land abandonment, soil erosion and biodiversity degradation in mountainous areas and calls for rapid action in generational renewal in this areas;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Member States to develop coherent strategies to promote generational change, combining different measures in a complementary way, such as financial support, tax breaks and incentives, to improve links between EU policies and national and regional policies; calls on the Commission to promote the sharing of best practices between Member States in this regard, with a focus on increasing efficiency, simplification and accessibility when designing measures for young farmers;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Stresses that generational renewal needs both younger and older generations and therefore intergenerational cooperation and dialogue must be fostered;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Member States to promote innovative models of intergenerational collaboration, such as partnerships, share farming or land- matching services; recalls the potential of the cooperation measures under the CAP Strategic Plans in this regard and regrets that only 5 Member States have made use of this possibility; calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure an enabling administrative framework that facilitates the adoption of these innovative approaches;
Amendment 198 #
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, on the quantity and quality of farmland available, on drivers of farmland abandonment and on prices and land concentration, differentiating land grabbing from assembling agricultural plots to form viable farm units, while also evaluating the impacts of all relevant EU policy areas in this regard;
Amendment 224 #
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 pre-emptive rights in favour of young farmers, price controls, acquisition caps or obligations to maintain agricultural activity; calls, furthermore, for the establishment of national plans aimed at facilitating land mobility;
Amendment 237 #
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, planning and ownership, communicating about land sales and monitoring land concentration;
Amendment 245 #
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, tenancy regimes, as well as changes in farmland use and land abandonment;
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Highlights that land lease is a viable alternative to gain access to land, locking fewer resources; calls on Member states to adopt policies to promote long- term land leasing, such as tax exemptions, providing security of tenure and time to invest
Amendment 302 #
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, other than the CAP;
Amendment 305 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Welcomes the importance Member States attached to the challenge of promoting generational renewal in farming in the process of drafting the national strategic plans, demonstrated by the vast majority of MS allocating more than the minimum required amount to support for young farmers2a; _________________ 2a "Approved 28 CAP Strategic Plans (2023-2027). SUmmary overview for 27 Member States. Facts and figures", published by the European Commission, April, 2023
Amendment 310 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Insists that generational renewal remain a high priority in the future programming period in order to receive, namely on the CAP, to be supported in a mandatory and increased supportway;
Amendment 313 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Encourages politicians, schools, media, farmers, local associations, to work together in promoting a positive image of farming and rural areas and to communicate on the farmer’s role in food production and environmental services;
Amendment 314 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Amendment 315 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 c (new)
Paragraph 27 c (new)
27c. Stresses the importance of providing tailored advisory services, in particular to support young farmers and new entrants, prior to their installation and in the following years; highlights the potential of diversifying the models of advice to better address farmers diversity (e.g. peer-to-peer learning, mentoring schemes);
Amendment 316 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 d (new)
Paragraph 27 d (new)
27d. Highlights the importance of integrating in the training schemes for new entrants and young farmers, in addition to the technical, business and digital contents, also contents on soft skills, communication, leadership, mental health and well-being, among others;
Amendment 317 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 e (new)
Paragraph 27 e (new)
27e. Considers that diverse options of facilitating the farm transmission process should be fostered in public policies at European and national level, such as existing farms acting as incubators for start-up businesses or new models of business allowing progressive transfer of land and assets between a farmer and his/her successors
Amendment 319 #
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 reviewed in order to ensure continuity;
Amendment 322 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Underlines the role of young farmer’s organisations, cooperatives and farmer organisations in helping young farmers overcome barriers to installation, 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;
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Underlines the impact and potential of digital technologies onfor young farmers' activities and business opportunities, and that a strong political commitment is required at all levels of policy implementation to ensure connectivity andbroadband infrastructure and connectivity and a particular focus on digital inclusion;
Amendment 331 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Highlights the importance of reliable internet access for young farmers quality of life in rural areas, namely to overcome social isolation, access education and training opportunities, as well as for service provision;
Amendment 334 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Insists on the need to ensure adequate working and living conditions and social protection for young farm workers and seasonal workers, in particular women and migrant workers;