Instead of fallow, nitrogen-fixing or catch crops can be sown on farms
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food sent a notification to the European Commission that it will apply derogation for the reference year 2024 in relation to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 on the implementation of the Standard for good agricultural and ecological condition of the land No. 8 “Minimum share of agricultural area intended for non-production areas or objects” (DESA 8). The derogation is valid for the year of application – 2024.
The Good Agricultural and Environmental Status Standards (GAES) are a set of European standards, also known as ‘conditionality’. Their application contributes to the protection and improvement of the environment and climate. Farmers should comply with the requirements of these standards in their holdings in order to receive financial support under the relevant interventions of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
On February 12, 2024, the European Commission adopted a Regulation for the implementation of (EU) 2024/587 of the Commission on granting a derogation from Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding the application of the Standard for Good Agricultural and Environmental Status of the Land OJEU 8.
The new regulation provides for the allocation of a minimum share of at least 4% of arable land at farm level to non-productive areas and elements, including land left under listen and/or crops that enrich the soil with nitrogen and/or catch crops. This adopted derogation option is expected to improve the viability of farms by giving farmers more flexibility in terms of the areas that can be used to fulfill their obligation to set aside a certain proportion of arable land for biodiversity benefits . The proposed derogation also means fewer restrictions on how farmers can use arable land and will reduce revenue losses, while providing corresponding environmental benefits.
Catch crops should be grown without the use of plant protection products. Where such a catch crop is grown after a main crop on the area set aside to fulfill the first requirement of the ETS standard 8, Member States should apply a weighting factor of 1 when calculating the size of non-production areas to take into account management decisions and the sowing that farmers have already taken for the reference year 2024 and that they cannot change without incurring additional costs.
With the changes made and with the derogation applied, it is ensured that payments will only be made for obligations that go beyond the first requirement of TEC 8 in relation to the objectives of the eco-schemes referred to in the amended Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, as well as the agro-environmental objectives, climate-related and other governance commitments set out in it and established by Member States in their CAP Strategic Plans for the application year – 2024.
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