European Commission approves Estonia's CAP strategic plan

  • 2022-11-11
  • BNS/TBT Staff

TALLINN – The European Commission on Friday approved Estonia's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) strategic plan for the years 2023-2027, the budget of the plan is 1.6 billion euros.

The new CAP of the European Union, which will be implemented on Jan. 1, 2023, should help make the European agricultural sector more sustainable, resilient and modern. The new plan provides for a fairer distribution of financial resources among agricultural producers, with the emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprises and young farmers, the Commission's representation in Estonia said.

In addition, innovative undertakings are supported -- from precision agriculture to agroecological production methods.

The CAP strategic plans of EU member states provide financial means for income support, rural development and market measures. When developing the plan, each member state selected the appropriate tools from among the measures offered by the EU according to their needs and circumstances. The Commission has assessed the compliance of each plan with the 10 main objectives of the CAP, taking into account environmental, social and economic aspects. The plans must also help achieve the climate and environmental goals set in the Commission's farm-to-plate and biodiversity strategies.

The Estonian plan approved on Friday has a budget of 1.6 billion euros, of which 456 million euros are intended to achieve environmental and climate goals and 35 million euros to support young farmers. The budget also supports innovation.

Estonia will earmark about 45 percent of its CAP plan's total funding to help stabilize the income of farmers and rural businesses. Regarding its environmental priorities, the Estonian plan will use around 456 million euros of its total CAP budget to support environmental and climate objectives, focusing on carbon sequestration, biodiversity and valuable grasslands, as well as increasing knowledge about sustainable production.

More than 23 percent of the total utilized agricultural land will receive support for practicing organic farming. Estonia expects to create 1,250 new rural jobs through CAP supported projects. By supporting young farmers, Estonia is trying to preserve life in rural areas and bring young people into rural entrepreneurship and the agricultural sector.