CAP and intensive livestock farming

EN E-006426/2018 Answer given by Mr Hogan on behalf of the European Commission (8.3.2019) The amount of support (total support, decoupled payments, support for rural development) broken down by type of farming and by Member State is available at the link below (from the Farm Accountancy Data Network - FADN, a representative sample of EU farms). The Commission would like to recall that the annual subsidies under the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) are largely decoupled from production. The amount of support received is not linked to any obligation for the farmer to produce or to a type of production or the quantities produced, but the aim is to encourage farmers to better align their businesses with the demands of the market, respecting clear environmental obligations. The Common Agricultural Policy therefore does not support specific types of production but rather farmers in order to ensure the EU food security, sustainable management of natural resources and a living rural economy. Member States have the possibility to use a limited part of their direct payment envelope for coupled support to help certain sectors undergoing difficulties, such as extensive beef and sheep production. However, pig and poultry production are excluded from coupled support.