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The future of the CAP: what's in it for digital farming?

On 29 November 2017, the European Commission (EC) presented its vision on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The communication outlines the EC’s ideas on the future of food and farming and proposes a number of changes to the CAP in order to meet the continuing challenges related to climate change and sustainable development. In this new framework, encouraging the use of modern technologies will take a central role, promising to boost digital innovations and market transparency in European agriculture.

The EU has launched a process of modernizing the CAP, with the objective to realize the transition towards a more sustainable and climate-friendly European agriculture. The CAP has experienced many reforms since its inception, and its adaptability is what makes this policy framework still relevant today. Considering the views of 320.000 stakeholders via a public consultation, the EC proposes to focus predominately on simplification and guaranteeing the best value-for-money. In this context, digital innovations that facilitate the everyday jobs of farmers, reduce bureaucratic burdens and promote generational renewal represent one of the priority areas. In addition, the revised CAP should play an essential role in realising the Juncker priorities, of which fully connecting farmers and the countryside to the digital economy represents one of the five key points.

The communication specifies that there exists a clear need to enhance investments into farm restructuring, modernisation and innovation. Technological developments and digitalization (precision agriculture, the use of big data, clean energy) make possible great leaps towards a more efficient use of resources, promoting a more sustainable and climate-friendly agriculture. Furthermore, there is a particular need to address small and medium-sized farms' access to technology. Joint EU and national investments represent the principal means to support better access to programmes for developing digital skills as well as improved connectivity in rural areas.

IoF2020 is already moving towards the future, paving the way towards data-drive farming capable of providing higher production yields in a more sustainable and environmentally-responsible manner, while also making the European food and farming sectors more competitive in an increasingly globalized world. To learn more about the work of the IoF2020 project and how it complements the objectives of the future CAP, have a look at the trial section of our website.

Would you like to have further information on the future of the CAP? Then consult the dedicated EC website as well as the communication itself.

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