The European Commission will extend by one year the temporary easing of two components of the new agricultural policy to compensate for the loss of Ukrainian exports. For the 2023 season as well, crop rotation and fallow land requirements will be suspended on certain areas so that more grain can be harvested within EU countries.
Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said on Monday, at the start of the monthly Agriculture and Food ministers' meeting in Luxembourg, that he will submit this proposal to the other commissioners. It is almost certain this will happen on Wednesday at the weekly 'big' commissioners' meeting.
Both the Agriculture Committee of the European Parliament and European agricultural associations have also requested an extension of the relaxation. By making this statement, Wojciechowski prevented the ministers from having to request this again, as they did earlier this year. At least sixteen ministers responded in agreement; eight countries—including the Netherlands—refrained from expressing support or approval.
To compensate for the shortage of Russian and Ukrainian grains on world markets, the Commission had in March approved a "temporary" exemption for an additional area of 4 million hectares. Regarding the 2022 harvest, Wojciechowski stated: "We do not know which fallow areas have actually been recultivated; it is probably much less than 4 million hectares, since the decision was taken late in the season (...).
Under the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), farms larger than 15 hectares must have at least 5% of “areas of ecological interest” (meadows, hedges, trees, fallow land) to qualify for European funds. In the new CAP, starting January, the requirement is that at least 4% must lie fallow to enhance biodiversity and soil enrichment.
However, the volumes of grain harvests in the EU in 2022 "already look better than in 2021," and the expected yields for next year "should be barely lower," emphasized Janusz Wojciechowski, referring to a first estimate that, according to him, will strengthen the continent's own food security while simultaneously contributing to global food security.