Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
The greening of agriculture in Austria
A comprehensive ecological orientation is the objective of Austria’s agricultural policy. The “greening” of Austrian agriculture is promoted with the help of the Agri-environmental Programme ÖPUL 2007 as well as with other measures within the framework of Rural Development 2007 – 2013.
Farms participate voluntarily in those measures. Through their environmentally compatible and extensive management they contribute to the sustainability of Austria’s natural resources.Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 - The Green Pact for Austria’s Agriculture
The 2007 – 2013 framework for rural development is an agri-environmental programme modified on the basis of the experience gained. The Green Pact for Austria’s Agriculture, the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013, was approved by the EU Commission in late October 2007. This programme is also called the “Green Pact”.
Measured against its national territory, Austria profits disproportionately high from the funds allocated to rural development. For the next 7 years totally 3.9 billion euros will be provided by the European Union. As these EU funds have to be doubled from national budgets (Federal Government and Provinces), totally 7.822 billion euro will be available for rural development during the 2007-2013 period.
The fundamental components are the subsidisation for mountain farmers (compensatory allowance) and the Agri-environmental Programme “ÖPUL 2007”. What is new is that the investment and regional offensive will be clearly intensified in the programme period 2007-2013.
Rural development is setting four priorities:
Axis 1: Improving the Competitiveness of the Agriculture and Forestry Sector
Axis 2: Improvement of the Environment and the Countryside
Axis 3: Quality of Life in Rural Areas and Diversification of the Rural Economy
Axis 4: Leader
Axis 1:Improving the Competitiveness of the Agriculture and Forestry Sector
Key components are the investment aid to modernise agricultural holdings, the setting-up aid for young farmers and the promotion of processing and marketing.
13.8 percent of the programme funds for the programme period 2007-2013 are granted for Axis 1. These are 1.078 billion euro.
Axis 2: Improvement of the Environment and the Countryside
72 percent of the programme funds are reserved for this Axis. This is an amount of 5.661 billion euro. Primary components are the Agri-environmental Programme ÖPUL 2007 and the subsidy for mountain farmers (compensatory allowance). But also forestry measures are subsidised under this Axis.
Agri-environmental Programme ÖPUL 2007-2013
ÖPUL is the “Austrian programme to promote agricultural production methods compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environment, extensive production, and the maintenance of the countryside”.
The objective of the Agri-environmental Programme is to ensure that environmental concerns of domestic agriculture are taken account of. Additional costs resp. diminished returns resulting from participation in specific measures are to be compensated by the Agri-environmental Programme. Priorities are above all the protection of soil and waters as well as the maintenance of biological diversity.
ÖPUL 2007 concentrates on about 30 measures. The most important measure to allow Austria to promote its position as organic country no.1 will also in the future be the measure “Organic farming”.
List of ÖPUL 2007 measures:
· Extensive and environmentally friendly management methods for whole operation or whole
type of culture and animal protection
· Organic management
· Environmentally sound management of arable land and grassland
· Renunciation of the use of yield-increasing inputs on arable land
· Renunciation of the use of yield-increasing inputs on field-fodder surfaces and grassland surfaces
· Renunciation of the use of fungicides in cereals
· Environmentally friendly management of medicinal plants and herbs, alternatives and seed
reproduction
· Integrated production strawberries, potatoes, beet
· Integrated production vegetables
· Erosion protection fruit and hops
Integrated production fruit and hops
· Erosion protection wine
· Integrated wine production
· Integrated production in protected cultivations
· Animal-friendly keeping of cattle, sheep, goats
· Culture landscape and nature conservation
· Abandonment of silage
· Scattered fruit tree stands
· Mowing of steep surfaces
· Mountain hay harvests
· Alpine pastures / Shepherding
· Ecopoints
· Rare domestic breeds
· Rare agricultural cultivated plants
· Nature conservation and conservation of surface waters
· Soil, climate and water protection
· Grass planting on arable surfaces
· Mulch and direct sowing
· Regional project for grassland preservation and the preservation of waters
· Preventive water protection
· Set-aside of arable surfaces particularly at risk of erosion
· Undercropping with maize
· Low-loss application of liquid organic fertilizers and biogas manure
Compensatory payments for less-favoured areas
The subsidisation measure “Compensatory allowance” has been very successful in recent years and will therefore also in the new programme period be continued in its present form.
The application will take place via the multiple application form.
The amount of the compensatory allowance (CA) will also in future depend on the kind and the extent of the area eligible for compensatory allowance (the level of subsidisation for forage areas is higher than that for areas eligible for compensatory allowance), on the number of mountain farm cadastre points as a measure for the evaluation of the handicap, and on the type of holding.
Also in the future the new mountain farm cadastre will serve to assess the handicap. Three main criteria, in particular parcel-related slope gradient, accessibility as well as climate and soil conditions of the farm, are considered to assess the handicap situation of the holding. The number of points reached is taken account of in the calculation of the CA amount of the farm.
Of course also non-mountain farmers (holdings without MFC points) who cultivate areas eligible for compensatory allowance will receive a compensatory allowance; however, to a lower extent than mountain farms. About two thirds of the non-mountain farms are located in areas characterised by low soil yield and other permanent specific handicaps, that is, in the “Other less-favoured area” and in the “Small-scaled areas”.
Measures for forests
In the new Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 about 175 million euro are available for forestry subsidisation measures.
Axis 3: Quality of Life in Rural Areas and Diversification of the Rural Economy
By means of Axis 3 – Quality of Life in Rural Areas and Diversification of the Rural Economy – the former Article 33 measures of the old programme period are completely redirected. The re-direction embraces aspects concerning subject-matters, legal issues with respect to aids as well as financial issues. Until 2013 totally 506 million euro will be made available.
Axis 3 summarises the measures that go beyond the remote fields of agriculture and forestry, such as non-agrarian enterprises, communities and various organisations responsible for projects.
Axis 4: Leader
Leader is an initiative aimed at supporting rural areas. With the reform of rural development for the 2007-2013 period Leader has been integrated into the Rural Development Programme.
The regional approach offers optimum conditions for agriculture. In the 2007-2013 period 5.5 percent, i.e. 423 million euro, are allocated to Leader projects.
Expiring programme ÖPUL 2000
ÖPUL 2000 is the precursor programme of ÖPUL 2007. ÖPUL 2000 was planned for the period 2000-2007.
With ÖPUL 2000 Austria has realised the most comprehensive and most differentiated agri-environmental programme within the European Union.
ÖPUL aims at promoting the environmentally benign extensification of plant and animal production. Incentives for the long-term set-aside of agricultural areas to preserve the environment are to be offered. These subsidies for agriculture secure jobs in rural areas and give positive impulses for the regional economic structure.
As opposed to environmental programmes in several other EU countries, which are offered primarily in delimited, environmentally sensitive areas, the Austrian Agri-environmental Programme chose a horizontal approach which aims at the participation of Austrian farmers all over the country.
In 2006, 126,600 holdings participated in the Austrian Agri-environmental Programme (with premium payment), i.e. 75.2% of all agricultural farms with agriculturally used land.
The areas involved in the environmental programme (not including mountain pastures) totalled some 2.22 million hectares, i.e. 87.6 percent of Austria's agriculturally utilised area. This high participation rate in the Agri-environmental Programme puts Austria first among the EU Member States.
Altogether, an amount of approximately 643 million euro of subsidies was paid to farmers by the EU, the Federal Government and the Federal Provinces. Agrarmarkt Austria (AMA) has been entrusted with the organisation of agricultural subsidies from ÖPUL.
22.08.2008, Lebensministerium Öffentlichkeitsarbeit