19 Amendments of Bernadette BOURZAI related to 2007/2194(INI)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas although the various policies in support of young farmers have breathed new life into Europe's farming sector by facilitating generation changeover the last 10 years improved the situation as regards generation change, it is still a matter for concern and should remain a priority for the EU,
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Maintains that action to foster generate change in farming is essential in order to address the food, energy and territorial challenges facing European farming today and in the future; considers that all such challenges cannot, if society's expectations are to be met, be addressed without a strong farming sector and a large number of farmers in the Union;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Emphasises the contribution made by land prices to the problems experienced by young people setting up in farming, and calls on the Commission to look into the considerable increase in land prices brought about by, among other things, urban pressures and speculation;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Recommends the introduction of instruments enabling priority in respect of agricultural land transfers to be given to young farmers setting up in business rather than to existing farmers wishing to increase the size of their holdings, including an early-retirement mechanism, deferred-purchase aid, phased setting-up arrangements and rental of part of the land;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Notes that it is particularly important to prevent the desertification of disadvantaged farming areas in keeping with the Union's territorial cohesion objective, to make it easier for young farmer to set up in business in areas with a permanent natural handicap, such as islands and mountain areas, where development, construction and access costs are higher and where it is often necessary to diversify in order to achieve a sufficient degree of viability;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Notes that in order to take better account of the increased cost of taking over farms and the difficulties involved in setting up in problem farming areas, the Community aid ceiling should be raised from EUR 55 000 and the time limit for achieving compliance with the rules should be increased from three years to five years after set-up;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Notes that farming is very often the last activity to survive in rural areas and that incentives for young people to set up in farming should therefore be introduced; points out, however, that, over and above the need for holdings to be viable, efforts are also required to make the rural environment a place in which people wish to live, by fostering equal access to public services (post offices, schools, public transport, health services, etc.) and maintaining normal service provision (shops and trades, childcare facilities, care facilities for the elderly, social housing, rental accommodation, etc.) and social amenities enabling people not to feel isolated (cafés, community centres, sports centres, etc.);
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. Stresses that arrangements enabling young farmers to leave their holdings for training, holidays, births, etc. need to be put in place;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that the high level of indebtedness of young farmers severely diminishes the likelihood of farming providing them with an income comparable to that which may be earned in other economic sectors;Draws attention to the difficulties experienced by young people wishing to set up in farming in gaining access to funding, and to the useful role played by subsidised loan arrangements in enabling young farmers to set up and continue in farming without incurring an excessive amount of debt;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes that someCalls for such measures in support of young farmers are still notto be made compulsory as part of the action provided for under axis 1 in Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 with a view to improving the competitiveness of the farming sector;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Takes the view that national early- retirement arrangements should apply only where the retiring farmer's holding is taken over by a young farmer, or, alternatively, that the retiring farmer should be entitled to an improved pension where this happens;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Points out that social and cultural specificity and diversity are key factors in product promotion policy, and bolster the competitiveness of the European agricultural models are the identification of a specific geographical area and excellence in production methods, as illustrated by the reputation and success of agricultural products with protected designations of origin or that are labelled;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Believes that measures should be taken to promote the farming profession and its services to society in addition to its production activities, with a view to attracting more young people to the profession, especially young people from non-farming backgrounds;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Believes that the promotion of the farming profession should also entail improved communication with the general public and hence consumers on the content of the CAP, as regards health, environmental and animal welfare requirements, the conditionality of aid, multifunctionality, European product quality, the contribution to combating climate change, food self-sufficiency and the food challenges for a world population which should reach nine billion by 2050;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Stresses the importance of shifting the focus of agricultural research in line with the CAP reform, promoting technology transfers and improving farmers' access to research findings and the latest innovations relating to production methods and tools;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on the Commission to bring special incentives to bear with a view to ensuring that, in connection with the granting of initial setting-up support, preference is given to company-based structures, with a view to limiting the breaking up ofack up the granting of initial setting-up support with special incentives and subsidised loans, and to give equal treatment to farms with different types of legal status, as well as small, medium-sized and large farms;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Recommends that more flexibility be introduced in farm setting-up and transfer procedures through the following: gradual setting-up, consideration for the validation of previous professional experience where the person wishing to set up does not have the required qualifications, waiver of the age requirement where the applicant submits a viable setting-up project, particularly in disadvantaged agricultural areas, etc.;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21b. Stresses that young farmers should be given support in the years following their setting-up and that a special reserve fund should be established to help them deal with unforeseeable circumstances at the time of setting up, such as damage to crops due to extreme weather or a sharp increase in costs;