EU backtracks on 2027 target for use of smartphones in farm controls 

The integration of digital technology into the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been hailed as a way of reducing the administrative burden of controls on farmers. 

However, on Thursday (11 July), member states gave the green light to a Commission proposal to drop the target of making the use of photos taken by farmers with their smartphones mandatory by 2027.

The fact that the rollback of digital requirements is part of the CAP “simplification package” by the EU executive raises questions because something must have gone wrong when a tool designed precisely for simplification becomes a burden.

Most checks on farms’ eligibility for area-based subsidies are currently carried out via satellite images and farm visits.   

Meanwhile, geo-tagged images – which include precise location data – are being used on a voluntary basis to provide more accurate information on agricultural activities. 

The EU decided in 2022 to promote this tool and make it compulsory in the next CAP period, saying it would make farmers’ work easier by reducing the need for field inspections.  

But in February – at a time when farmers across the bloc were protesting against red tape in farming subsidies – EU countries asked the Commission for more time to implement the system.  

And member states were not alone in finding the 2027 target too ambitious.  

“It was like running before you can walk,” José Manuel Roche, secretary at the Spanish agricultural organisation UPA, told Euractiv. 

“We have an ageing agricultural sector that finds it more difficult to navigate certain technologies,” he said, adding that part of the bloc is still not covered by broadband. 

Sandra Eimane, a Latvian dairy farmer and chair of the Latvian Young farmers’ club, said that users lack guidance on how to navigate the system.  

“And not all farmers have smartphones,” she added. 

In a survey launched by the Commission in March, half of the users reported problems with the mobile applications set up by national administrations. 

Meanwhile, paying agencies responsible for managing CAP funds say they sometimes struggle to process large volumes of images, a senior auditor at the European Court of Auditors (ECA) told Euractiv. 

According to Roche and Eimane, confusion over the tool has led to regular delays in subsidy payments in their countries. 

Still, it’s not all doom and gloom.

Tiago Mateus, a young farmer from Portugal, told Euractiv that geo-tagged photos have helped him map his farm and control the data he submits to receive CAP payments. 

“In most cases, this technology eliminates the need for farm visits, which take a lot of time,” he said, adding that the system helps farmers “ensure that payments are fair”.  

For him, pictures taken in the field provide more accurate information than satellite imagery alone and the app is a useful channel for communicating with the administration. 

But the fact that, for many farmers, geo-tagging means more red tape offers a mixed picture of the future of the digitalisation of the CAP and European agriculture.

As long as rural areas still lag behind cities in digital skills and connectivity, there is a risk that what is a solution within the reach for some will be a hurdle for others. 

Nibbles of the week 

EU centre-right aims for agriculture Commissioner, says party’s farming policy chief. European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee (AGRI) will be chaired by a member of the hard-right party European Conservatives and Reformists, Herbert Dorfmann, the incumbent agriculture coordinator of the European People’s Party (EPP), told Euractiv on Tuesday (9 July).  

The EPP will, in turn, seek to appoint a commissioner for agriculture, he confirmed to Euractiv.  

Will the Czech hard-right chair AGRI? An ECR spokesperson confirmed on Friday (12 July) that the new chair of AGRI would come from the hard-right group, with the candidate to be officially confirmed after next week’s plenary session in Strasbourg. According to Euractiv’s analysis of lawmakers with an EU agrifood background, one name stands out: Veronika Vrecionová, the ECR coordinator in AGRI during the 2019-2024 mandate. The Czech politician is among the most experienced ECR members in agricultural matters and was the rapporteur of AGRI’s opinion on the EU’s new rules for gene-edited crops.

EU’s food watchdog dismisses concerns over gene-edited crops proposal amid Council deadlock. The EU’s food safety authority (EFSA) said the European Commission’s criteria for relaxing rules on certain gene-edited foods are ‘scientifically justified’, while the Hungarian Council Presidency is pulling the brakes on the file.    

Following a request by the European Parliament, EFSA published an assessment of a 2023 opinion by the French food safety agency (ANSES) which questioned the Commission’s criteria to split crops produced using New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) into two categories, one of the founding elements in the proposal.      

Hungarian presidency launches offensive against ‘novel’ foods to defend EU’s ‘culinary tradition.’ On Budapest’s initiative, EU agriculture ministers will discuss on Monday (15 July) whether insects, plant-based foods or lab-grown meat could jeopardise Europe’s culinary traditions.  

According to a note from the Hungarian Council Presidency, seen by Euractiv, the 27 ministers will exchange views on the topic over lunch during next week’s Agriculture and Fisheries Council (AGRIFISH) meeting.  

Economic reasons not enough to allow wolf hunting, says EU Court of Justice. The EU Court of Justice (CJEU) clarified in a ruling that economic reasons, such as preventing livestock losses, were not sufficient to allow the hunting of wolves, at a time when EU member states are discussing lowering the species’ protection status.  

Starmer vows to champion farming, but uncertainty remains over UK agriculture plans. The UK’s new centre-left government has pledged to champion British farming, but questions linger over Labour’s plans for the country’s post-Brexit farming policies. Labour’s manifesto did not mention a budget for farming, while the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats promised an additional £1 billion (nearly €1.2 billion) for the agricultural sector.  

European fisheries hope for closer EU-UK collaboration after Labour victory. The Labour Party’s victory in the UK general election has opened up the prospect of harmonisation and cooperation with the EU, according to Europe’s fishing industry, although concerns remain about bans in marine protected areas.  

European Commission greenlights €77 million in emergency support to farmers in Austria, Czechia, Poland and Portugal. The European Commission proposed to allocate €77 million from the agricultural reserve to support farmers from the fruit, vegetables and wine sectors of Austria, Czechia, and Poland, who have “recently suffered from adverse climatic events of unprecedented magnitude,” as well as Portuguese wine producers, who face “serious market disturbances.” 

[Edited by Angelo Di Mambro and Zoran Radosavljevic]

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