Opening the meeting "CAP Reform and impact on small and young farmers", the Head of Department for EU Integration within MAFWM Milanka Davidović compared the constant reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and harmonization of national policies among the EU Member States with a “moving target”, while the process of aligning national legislation with the CAP is “chasing a moving target”.
Laszlo Arendas, Program Manager from the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia, agreed with that metaphor, emphasizing that each new composition of the European Commission brings new ideas and that this is the nature of the process. He pointed out that policymakers in the EU are trying to get adequate feedback from farmers and that the discussions are constantly open, which allows the CAP reform to be a form of public debate.
Ms. Davidović explained to the audience that “Capacity building for the alignment with the acquis in the area of agriculture, rural development, food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy” Project is EU technical assistance to Serbia aimed at fulfilling benchmarks for opening negotiation chapters 11 and 12. She emphasized that young and small producers are in the focus of Serbian agricultural policy, which reflects the goals of the European Union. The domestic agricultural sector is characterized by a large number of small agricultural farms and the increasing outflow of young people from rural areas. Ms. Davidović stated that these groups should be supported so that "they have sustainable agricultural production, earn decent money for their living.”
The central presentation was given by the representative of the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission (DG AGRI), Marius Legovski, who joined directly from Brussels. He pointed out that young farmers are also recognized in the European Union as key to the sustainable development of agriculture, and that encouraging their inclusion can ensure the future of food production and environmental protection. The need for generational renewal is present in all Member States and the CAP envisages that each state allocates at least three percent from its budgets for direct payments to young farmers in order to facilitate the establishment of farms. The new reformed CAP, which is awaiting final adoption, can be called "green" due to the increasingly demanding environmental criteria that all farmers need to meet.
