Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Agricultural Policy (CAP), the climate
change policy (Adaptation Strategy, LULUCF
Accounting), natural resource management
(Roadmap for a Resource Efficient Europe
(EC, 2011a)) and waste policy (Biowaste).
(EC, 2009). These GAEC criteria explicitly
include a reference to the need to maintain
OM levels through appropriate good agri-
cultural and environmental practices. Farm-
ers receiving direct support through the
CAP need to comply with these GAECs
(commonly referred to as Cross-compliance
Scheme). Monitoring and verification of the
impact of this scheme on European agricul-
tural soils has proven difficult, certainly
with respect to organic soils, for which the
proposed monitoring procedures are un-
suitable, as they focus on the topsoil layer
only. New tools are needed for cost-effective
SOC monitoring from the European to farm
level (EC, 2011b, 2012a). The EC is actually
preparing the ground for the new CAP to-
wards 2020. The new policy for the period
2014-2020 wants to assure: viable food pro-
duction, sustainable management of natural
resources and climate action, and a balanced
territorial development. The last Communi-
cation on the CAP towards 2020 remarks
how farming practices could limit soil de-
pletion, water shortages, pollution, C losses
and loss of biodiversity.
Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
A substantial proportion of land in Europe
is occupied by agriculture, and conse-
quently this sector plays a crucial role in
natural resources protection. Adopting inef-
ficient and non-sustainable management
practices, including land abandonment, has
an adverse impact on natural resources. Ef-
ficient agricultural management can main-
tain the same rate in food production while
having a positive effect on the state of soil.
By adopting C sequestration practices, SOC
concentration can be maintained and some-
times enhanced (Lal, 2006, 2011). Agricul-
tural production is very sensitive to climatic
variations and its management needs to adapt
accordingly in order to ensure sufficient food
production.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
is the agricultural and rural development
policy of the EU concerned with ensuring
sufficient food at reasonable and stable
prices. Its main goal is to ensure food secur-
ity, but nowadays the CAP is designed to
meet a wide range of needs, including the
maintenance of farm incomes and good
farming practices, enhancing food quality
and promoting animal welfare. In particu-
lar, the interaction between agriculture and
the environment is integrated by the con-
cept of sustainable agriculture. In this way,
the management of agroecosystems ensures
benefits also for the future. With respect to
soil protection, the CAP contributes to pre-
venting and mitigating soil degradation in
order to build up SOM, enhance soil bio-
diversity and reduce soil erosion, contamin-
ation and compaction. Due attention has
been given to SOC in the definition of Good
Agricultural and Environmental Conditions
(GAEC), as referred to in Article
6
of Regula-
tion No 73/2009 establishing the rules for
direct support scheme payments for farmers
Roadmap to resource-efficient
Europe (COM (2011) 571 final)
The Resource Efficiency Roadmap is part of
the Resource Efficiency Flagship of the
Europe
2020 Strategy
(EC, 2011a). The Roadmap aims
to set out a framework for the design and
implementation of future actions in resource
efficiency. It also outlines the structural and
technological changes in the EU's economy
needed by 2050, including sustainability
milestones to be reached by 2020. It propos-
es ways to increase resource productivity, to
decouple economic growth from resource
use and its environmental impact, and it in-
vestigates how policies interrelate and build
on each other. Areas where policy action
can make a real difference are of particular
focus, and specific bottlenecks, like incon-
sistencies in policy and market failures, are
tackled to ensure that policies are all going
in the same direction. The framework for
actions comprehends many policy areas,
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