The Union of Small Farmers and Ranchers of Castilla-La Mancha has raised with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Rural Development the need to reach a common position regarding the Questionnaire of the CAP post-2027, demanding that the new model place the viability of family agricultural holdings at its center, which account for around 80% of the agricultural fabric in Spain.
In the meeting, the Secretary General of UPA Castilla-La Mancha, Julián Morcillo, and the Secretary of Organization, Elisa Fernández, participated, along with the Deputy Minister of the CAP and Agro-environmental Policy, José Manuel Martín Aparicio, as well as representatives from other organizations such as Asaja Castilla-La Mancha and Agro-food Cooperatives.
Although the European debate on the future CAP is still in an embryonic phase, without a closed budget or definitive agreements, the organization insists that it is essential to start designing a framework that guarantees the continuity of family holdings, which concentrate the bulk of the sector, as UPA has emphasized in a press release.
"It is the most effective tool to structure the territory, fix the population, and fight against the emptied Spain," Morcillo has indicated.
With the aim of achieving a more equitable distribution that truly incentivizes agricultural activity, UPA Castilla-La Mancha has presented its main proposals to the Junta, including a new definition of the figure of 'Active Farmer'.
UPA proposes to strengthen this figure and clarify the requirements to receive the aids.
Thus, it is defended that, at a minimum, 25% of the total income of the beneficiary comes from agricultural activity.
In addition to the fact that production sales can account for at least 20% of these agricultural incomes, ensuring that the decreasing aid to income per area does not exceed 80% of them.
In relation to the limit of aids per holding and the exclusion of investment funds, the organization demands a more intense redistribution of resources and cuts to large recipients.
UPA proposes to establish a maximum limit of 60,000 euros per holding, of decreasing aid to income per area (expandable up to a maximum of 100,000 additional euros, if salary costs are justified), which would free up resources to support small and medium holdings.
Likewise, UPA demands an efficient distribution that excludes investment funds from the public support system and conditions aid to the agri-food industries on strict compliance with the Food Chain Law.
Specific supports for strategic crops in Castilla-La Mancha
Given the impact of climate change and the escalation of production costs, which put the profitability of productions such as dryland farming at risk, the organization claims to dedicate the maximum possible percentage to associated aid, with room to adapt them to sectors in crisis.
In this line, UPA requests that specific supports be considered for dryland vineyards, beekeeping, sunflowers, aromatic plants, and saffron.
In addition to modifying and improving the associated aid for other crops such as traditional olive groves.
"From UPA CLM we believe that for the government of Castilla La Mancha it must be a priority to demand that the wine sector continues to have a sectoral intervention at the State level in the next CAP," they have stated.
UPA Castilla-La Mancha also proposes to raise the threshold of the small producers regime to 5,000 euros, "which would greatly facilitate the management of aid, and a relaxation of the regulatory conditionality requirements for farms that receive less aid and that also represent a very small percentage of the agricultural area."
Finally, the organization positively values the elimination of historical rights provided for in the new European regulation and advocates for moving towards a single region, in order to correct the distortions arising from the current regionalization system. "From UPA CLM we believe it is necessary to move towards convergence with the majority of European countries that already apply a flat rate per hectare at the national level," they have stated in this regard.