Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

An attractive sector for new generations

Change 8

Removed36. Recalls that ensuring generational renewal is a challenge for agriculture in the Member States and will involve mobilising all the financial resources of the CAP, including the additional payment for young professional farmers under Pillar I and measures to help young farmers to establish themselves under Pillar II, all of which are compulsory for Member States, as well as support from new financial instruments outside the CAP;

Added102 Emphasises that ensuring generational renewal and female entrepreneurship are both essential to preserving the future of EU agriculture and the socio-economic structure of rural areas; recognises the efforts through CAP measures to foster generational renewal, particularly in more peripheral rural areas, and stresses the need to reinforce them; points out, however, that the CAP cannot be the only tool to bring young people and women into farming, but must be backed up by national strategies, involving private sources of financing, including banks, collaborative farming arrangements and partnerships, and financial instruments with reduced or no co-financing requirements; insists that the vitally important objective of ensuring generational renewal in EU agriculture has to be accompanied by structural measures, particularly with regard to innovation, digitalisation, digital connectivity and access to land; looks forward, in this regard, to the publication of the Commission’s strategy on generational renewal;

Change 9

Changed37.103. Calls on the Member States to develop coherentcoherent, sustainable and long-termpredictable strategies to promote generational renewal and increase the attractiveness of working in agriculture, combiningensuring differentcompatibility measureswith inEU aand complementaryregional way,policies, suchincluding astheir financialnational support,strategic includingplans; installationinsists aid,on increasedthe taxneed exemptionsto increase and incentives,mobilise CAP financial resources in particularfavour of generational renewal, which currently include the additional Pillar I payment and the support for investment and installation aid available under Pillar II, as well as the transfercreation of land;new calls,financial furthermore,instruments foroutside the MemberCAP; Statesemphasises tothat improvethese linksinstruments betweenshould EUinclude policiesincreased andtax nationalexemptions and regionalincentives, policieslow-interest loans, agricultural credit guarantee schemes, subsidies for precision farming tools and strategies,training services, including theiron nationalsustainable strategicbusiness plans;models, aimed at improving profitability;

Change 10

Removed38. Calls on the Commission and Member States to address the problem of agricultural land loss adequately; stresses that land leasing is a viable short-term alternative for accessing land, as it requires fewer resources to set up and encourages generational renewal; calls on Member States to adopt policies to promote land leasing, such as tax exemptions, thus providing security of tenure and time to invest, especially for young and new farmers, which could also improve soil health;

Added104. Stresses the importance of providing diversified, tailored and independent advisory services to support young farmers and new entrants, both prior to their establishment and in the following years, particularly in soft skills, digital and direct marketing skills, accounting, legal aspects, business diversification, sustainable farming and communication; advocates the widespread use of agricultural business incubators that enable prospective farmers to benefit from the knowledge of farmers with a few years of experience in a structured environment before taking over an independent farm; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that provision is made for the establishment of national centres for training young farmers;

Removed39. Welcomes the cooperation agreement with the EIB Group as a promising model that can foster the creation of financial instruments for young farmers and water policies in all Member States;

Added105. Asks the Commission to assess whether extending the eligibility for support for young farmers to the age of 45 would encourage more people to become established in agriculture, including through reskilling; calls on the Commission also to reassess other elements of the eligibility criteria which may be too restrictive;

Removed40. Recognises the efforts of CAP measures to bring young people into farming, particularly those in more peripheral rural areas; points out, however, that the administrative burden is excessive and that the current CAP model can be improved to speed up access for young and new farmers, stressing that the CAP cannot be the only tool to encourage generational renewal, but must be backed up by national strategies;

Added106. Welcomes the cooperation agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group as a promising model that can foster the creation of financial instruments for many aspects of the CAP, including support for young and female farmers, as well as water, market and climate resilience policies in all Member States; believes that the role of the EIB should primarily focus on providing low cost financing for match funding for capital items and infrastructure projects that farmers may engage in as part of a modernisation programme;

Removed41. Calls on Member States to make business start-up and investment support available to young farmers throughout the CAP budget period and to make full use of all available options to support them; Stresses the need to provide access to training opportunities, particularly in soft skills, digital skills, business diversification, management and sustainable farming methods, including skills in communication, leadership, mental health and well-being;

Added107. Encourages the Member States to design mechanisms that facilitate the transition to a dignified and planned retirement; calls, in particular, for early retirement schemes for farmers, financed by separate funds; requests an expansion in services that connect retiring farmers with aspiring young or new farmers, accompanied by, inter alia, logistical support and legal advice to enable the mutually beneficial transfer of farms and ensure the continuity of knowledge and agricultural activity;

Removed42. Calls on the Commission to promote the exchange of best practices and innovative ideas between Member States in collaboration with universities, research centres and farms, focusing on increasing efficiency, simplification and accessibility, and reducing bureaucracy; calls on Member States to set up a one-stop shop system to facilitate administrative procedures in the most appropriate territorial area;

Added108. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to address, in their generational renewal strategies, the specific barriers faced by women, in particular young women, wishing to enter the agricultural sector, including issues not directly related to agriculture, such as adequate healthcare and social services; recognises the efforts through CAP measures to support women in agriculture, but stresses that stronger and more tailored support is needed, especially in peripheral rural areas, including access to loans, training or financial assistance to ensure real engagement and equal opportunities; urges the Member States to establish appropriate conditions for the active participation of women in representative agri-food organisations and in the management bodies of agricultural enterprises and rural women’s associations; welcomes, in this regard, the forthcoming creation of the women farmers’ platform as a space for dialogue and exchange of good practice to strengthen participation and equal opportunities in the agri-food sector;

Removed43. Encourages Member States to design mechanisms to facilitate the transition to a dignified retirement, in particular early retirement schemes for farmers, financed by Pillar II, and to support the mutually beneficial transfer of farms to young and new farmers;

Added109. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to urgently address the problem of agricultural land loss and concentration, including the lack of transparency in this market; stresses that land leasing under conditions of legal certainty is a viable short-term alternative for facilitating access to land, as it requires fewer resources to set up and encourages generational renewal; highlights the importance of publicly supported land-matching services and structured succession planning, in particular for the transmission of land that allows for early retirement and the continuity of farm management; advocates Member States adopting policies to promote long-term stable land leasing, thereby providing security of tenure and time to invest, especially for young, female and new farmers, which could also improve soil health, environmental performance and climate resilience;

Removed44. Encourages the promotion of support and visibility programmes that reflect the enriching and fulfilling lifestyle that the agricultural sector can offer, highlighting the value and commitment of farmers to nature, food security and the specific qualities and values inherent in the work of farm professionals;

Added110. Welcomes the Commission’s intention to launch an EU observatory on farmland, which would have to improve transparency in the agricultural land market in the EU and facilitate the harmonisation of farmland data and access to land, enable cooperation and exchange of best practice between Member States, as well as provide recommendations for more informed EU policymaking;

Added111. Highlights the fact that the preservation of the EU’s diverse cultural landscapes is not only of ecological and touristic importance, but also a cornerstone of regional identity and long-term rural resilience; calls, therefore, for their explicit recognition and the integration of their preservation as a strategic objective within the post-2027 CAP;

Added112. Strongly opposes any form of expropriation of farms and agricultural land for the purpose of nature restoration;

Added113. Encourages the Commission to explore how the CAP could support new business models for farmers towards even more sustainable, competitive agriculture in Europe;

Added114. Calls on the Commission to promote partnerships for exchanging best practice and innovative ideas between Member States in collaboration with local authorities, universities, research centres and farms; emphasises that such cooperation should focus on simplification, accessibility, increasing sustainability and addressing challenges specific to each region and sector and should be supported by appropriate training, thereby avoiding distortions and diverging approaches that could disadvantage farmers;

Added115. Encourages the promotion of support and visibility programmes that reflect the enriching and fulfilling lifestyle that the agricultural sector can offer, highlighting the value and commitment of farmers to nature, food security and the specific qualities and values inherent in the work of farm professionals; draws attention to the value of policy consistency over time as essential to enabling clear long-term objectives for the farming sector;

Added116. Stresses the importance of a strong and well-funded EU promotion policy, including increased CAP budget allocations, to raise awareness of the qualities of EU agricultural and food products both within the EU and globally, and emphasises that this assumes even greater significance during periods of economic uncertainty;

Innovation to continue moving agriculture forward

Change 11

Removed45. Highlights the important need for the CAP, Horizon Europe and other supportive funding schemes to encourage farmers to invest in new technologies adapted to their farm size, such as precision and digital farming tools which improve the resilience and environmental impact of agriculture;

Added117. Calls for an ambitious investment package for innovation, technology and applied research adapted to farmers’ needs, financed through the CAP, Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe Programme and other support mechanisms, which will play a key role in fostering a more sustainable and adapted agricultural sector; stresses that the Horizon Europe programme should include a specific pillar dedicated to agriculture, geared towards promoting research, innovation and knowledge transfer in the agri-food sector;

Removed46. Calls for a large investment package for research and innovation, which will be the only pathway towards a more sustainable and adapted agricultural sector, for example by developing the enormous potential of using new genomic techniques (NGTs) to develop more resilient crops that require fewer plant protection products, less fertiliser and less water; calls for a new legislative framework to ensure that this innovative technology can be used in the EU and to stimulate research, investment and employment;

Added118. Emphasises the need to ensure that innovative and digital solutions can be used with equitable access across all types of farms and territories in the EU and that these solutions support sustainable agriculture, aid in managing the diversity and complexity of agroecosystems, contribute to climate mitigation and adaptation strategies, improve farmers’ incomes, reduce the administrative workload for both farmers and administrations, anticipate future production conditions and are in line with the expectations of consumers and society; underlines that the use of new technologies should be supported by an appropriate legal framework in order to unleash their full potential and be subject to robust risk assessments;

Removed47. Stresses, in this regard, the need to support farmers in adapting to digital technologies and developing digital skills, which can help them to better implement their installation projects, support sustainable agriculture, reduce the administrative workload for both farmers and administrations, and anticipate future production conditions and expectations of consumers and society;

Added119. Calls for increased funding for applied research into sustainable and effective alternatives to conventional plant protection products and calls for a revision of the current approval procedures; highlights the need to avoid any further withdrawal from the market of plant protection products that respect established legal safety limits if alternatives are not yet available, in order to ensure that agricultural production can be maintained in a safe, sustainable manner; points to the potential of biostimulants in improving plant productivity;

Removed48. Points to the need to design a specific measure within the rural development framework – based on the principles of integrated sustainable agriculture – to promote the combination of pest control practices and technologies, including monitoring, biocontrol and the optimised use of plant protection products where necessary, always respecting the established legal and safety limits;

Added120. Stresses the importance of recognising and strengthening the role of the AKIS model as a strategic and cross-cutting tool in the post-2027 CAP, capable of ensuring the effective dissemination of knowledge and innovation to farmers; believes that an efficient and coordinated AKIS is central to achieving key CAP objectives in terms of competitiveness, sustainable food production, climate resilience and digital transition and must be fully integrated with national strategic plans;

Removed49. Recognises that the voluntary EU-wide framework for the certification of carbon removals can provide a positive incentive to ensure better remuneration for farmers, in particular younger farmers, through measures to capture and reduce emissions on farms;

Added121. Recognises the importance of EIP-AGRI, which has contributed to the advancement of innovation in the agri-food and forestry sector through the creation of operational groups and the implementation of innovative projects aimed at developing cutting-edge solutions, demonstrating best practice, which improve the sustainability, resilience and competitiveness of the agri-food sector; calls on the Commission to strengthen support for this initiative in the framework of the post-2027 CAP;

Added122. Points to the need to design a specific measure within the rural development framework based on the principles of integrated sustainable agriculture, to make greater use of integrated pest management, including biocontrol, drones and endotherapy, to optimise the application of plant protection products, while always respecting the established legal and safety limits and providing compensation to farmers for any financial losses suffered; stresses the importance of establishing integrated farming as a commonly recognised system in the EU and of making further progress in establishing and supporting sustainable and organic farming practices;

Added123. Highlights the importance of leveraging private funding within the CAP to increase investment in agriculture and rural development by mobilising more long-term resources for farmer organisations, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as family businesses;

Added124. Notes that, according to a European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) study from 2025, a small number of large slaughterhouses are concentrated in certain regions; highlights, therefore, the need to support, through CAP funds, the establishment and development of slaughterhouses to stimulate the local economy, create jobs and strengthen short supply chains;

Added125. Calls for the rapid approval and implementation of new breeding techniques, such as CRISPR-Cas, across both small and large companies, to foster the development of crops that are more resilient, resource-efficient and environmentally sustainable;

Added126. Calls for measures that ensure that farmers retain full ownership and control over their data, thereby safeguarding their rights and promoting transparency in the utilisation and sharing of agricultural data in the context of evolving digital and AI-driven innovations;

Added127. Recognises the potential benefits of the voluntary EU-wide framework for the certification of carbon removal and urges the Commission to enhance access to these opportunities for the farming sector; stresses that carbon and nature credits could provide a positive incentive and additional remuneration for farmers, particularly young farmers, by fairly rewarding practices such as agroforestry and regenerative soil management, which contribute to carbon capture and emission reductions on farms; underlines that such a certification framework has to be open and available to all farmers willing to maintain or increase the carbon storage capacity of their soils and encourages the Commission to create conditions to ensure market demand for such certificates through appropriate incentives and long-term market predictability for private sector investors; emphasises that carbon farming should complement, not replace, active and sustainable agricultural production;

Added128. Calls on the Commission to promote solar energy production on farms in a way that ensures that ownership of the installations and the benefits accrued remain with the landowner and the local community and that is compatible with agricultural activity, with a view to improving farmers’ ability to adapt to climate change and contribute to the stability and diversification of farmers’ income;

Added129. Urges the Commission to follow the recommendations of the Niinistö report and to consider the importance of having strategic food stocks; calls for the widespread establishment of strategic food stocks, based on the solid experience gained in Finland and Germany and for the concept of ‘dual use by design’ to be incorporated into policies for the development of biofuel production; considers that there can be no food sovereignty without strategic food stocks;

Added130. Stresses the importance of explicitly confirming the legality of cultivating, harvesting, processing and commercialising the entire hemp plant for authorised industrial purposes across the EU in order to provide legal certainty for farmers, processors, regulators and consumers; notes that hemp cultivation requires relatively few inputs, especially fertilisers, plant protection products and water; emphasises that it also contributes to soil health and biodiversity, offering new economic opportunities, additional income and innovation to rural areas through the provision of raw materials for industrial applications such as textile fibre, and other uses such as for health, food and feed; calls on the Commission to establish a common EU-wide threshold of 0.5 % tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) for the legal classification of industrial hemp, ensuring harmonisation of national legislation in line with Court of Justice of the European Union rulings and international law;

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131. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.