In January 2021 the European Commission (EC) published a list of potential agricultural practices that the eco-schemes could support in the future national Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plans.
The list aims to enhance transparency of the process, and support the Commission to assess and approve the eco-schemes as key tools for the CAP to deliver on the Green Deal targets. In addition, the list will provide farmers, administrations, scientists and stakeholders a base for further discussion on making the best use of this new instrument.
In this list, the EC offers examples of agriculture practices, broken into two categories:
- practices established in EU policy instruments, for example, organic farming or Integrated Pest Management; and
- other practices related to agro-ecology, animal welfare, agro-forestry, HNV farming, carbon farming, precision farming, nutrients management, protecting water, soil, GHG emissions, etc.