Potential use of the Farm Advisory System for successful implementation of agri-environmental schemes

The Farm Advisory System (FAS) has been established by all Member States in the EU since 2007. Advisory services provided within the FAS shall cover at least cross-compliance issues but Member States can extend them to topics that go beyond cross-compliance. This paper describes the main characteristics in the implementation of FAS in the Member States; as an example, it analyses the uptake of an agri-environmental scheme in an Italian region and discusses the relevance of extending FAS to assist farmers to implement agri-environmental measures (AEM). Yearly surveys carried out have showed that, even if FAS is differently operational in the Member States, the core approach is based on one-to-one advice on the farm mainly covering cross-compliance issues. Only in some Member States advice on agri-environmental issues within the FAS has been reported. In Lombardy Region the uptake of an agri-environmental measure on balanced fertilisation and crop rotation demonstrates how the participation of farmers within a geographically homogeneous area can be scattered. Therefore advisory services for agri-environmental measures can play an important role both in increasing farmers¿ awareness and in advising on agricultural practices that go beyond minimum cross-compliance requirements. At this regard the integration of these advisory services for AEM into the existing FAS should be promoted.

ANGILERI Vincenzo;  FASOLINI Dante;  PAMPALUNA Mery;  LOUDJANI Philippe; 

2010-05-21

Association of Applied Biologists

JRC56200

0265-1491,   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC56200,