Evaluation of the EU agricultural promotion policy – internal and third country markets
Date: 2018-07-18
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: common agricultural policy, rural development



IMMC.Ares%282018%293822583.ENG.xhtml.PART-2018-415856V1.docx











EVALUATION ROADMAP  






Roadmaps aim to inform citizens and stakeholders about the Commission's work to allow them to provide feedback and to participate effectively in future consultation activities. Citizens and stakeholders are in particular invited to provide views on the Commission's understanding of the problem and possible solutions and to share any relevant information that they may have.






Title of the evaluation




Evaluation of the EU agricultural promotion policy 






Lead DG – responsible unit 




DG AGRI C.4 Monitoring and Evaluation






Indicative Planning 


(planned start date and completion date)




Planned start date Q3 2018


Completion date Q4 2019






Additional Information




https://ec.europa.eu/chafea/agri/


https://ec.europa.eu/info/promotion-eu-farm-products_en


http://ec.europa.eu/smart-regulation/evaluation/index_en.htm






The Roadmap is provided for information purposes only. It does not prejudge the final decision of the Commission on whether this initiative will be pursued or on its final content. All elements of the initiative described by the document, including its timing, are subject to change.









A. Context, purpose and scope of the evaluation






Context






The objective of the European Union's promotion policy for agricultural and food products is to enhance the competitiveness of the Union’s agricultural sector, both internally and in third countries. Promotion measures aim to increase consumer awareness of the merits of the Union’s agricultural products and production methods and to increase the awareness and recognition of EU quality schemes. Moreover, measures should increase the competitiveness and consumption of EU agricultural products and increase the market share of these products focusing in particular on third country markets that have the highest growth potential. In the event of serious market disturbance, loss of consumer confidence or other specific problems, promotion measures should help restore normal market conditions.


A reform of this policy was adopted in 2015 with an increased annual budget of up to €200 million by 2019. Strategic priorities and their corresponding budgets are defined in the annually adopted work programmes which are implemented through the publication of calls for proposals. The evaluation and selection of the draft programmes are organised by the executive Consumer, Health and Food Agency (CHAFEA). The Agency is also mandated to manage programmes proposed and run jointly by organisations from several Member States.


The reformed policy introduced further important changes. These include: mention of the origin of the products and display of trademarks is allowed on condition that promotion campaigns remain generic in nature; the scope of eligible products and eligible beneficiaries is expanded; an optional co-financing by the Member States is abolished thereby creating a level playing field.


In addition to promotion programmes, the European Commission carries out actions on its own initiative such as participation in fairs, and high level missions, as well as communication campaigns to disseminate knowledge about EU agricultural products and boost export possibilities in third countries. 







Purpose and scope






This evaluation will assess the Union's reformed promotion policy on the basis of the following criteria: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and EU added-value.  


The regulatory framework consists of:


·Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council, 


·Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/1829 and 


·Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1831 


and can be accessed at https://ec.europa.eu/chafea/agri/funding-opportunities/legal-framework.


The evaluation will assess measures adopted under the 2016, 2017 and 2018 annual work programmes, including both promotion programmes as well as measures carried out at the initiative of the Commission (high-level missions, trade fairs, own campaigns and technical support services). 


The evaluation will cover Member States and third countries where promotion measures are implemented. 


This evaluation will be a valuable contribution to the preparation of the report which the Commission has to submit by 31 December 2020 to the European Parliament and to the Council on the application of Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014 (cf. Article 26). 







B. Better regulation






Consultation of citizens and stakeholders






The aim of the envisaged consultations is to seek information and feedback from the relevant stakeholders and wider public in relation to the effects of the EU promotion policy concerning agri-food products. 


In the context of the external evaluation study work, the main stakeholders will be consulted, in particular: 


·eligible organisations that represent the agricultural and food sectors,


·CHAFEA and national public authorities that are responsible for the management of the promotion programmes,


·implementing and evaluation bodies.  


During the external evaluation study work, an open internet-based public consultation on the practical experience with the implementation and the effects of the EU agricultural promotion policy measures will be conducted. The public consultation will run for 12 weeks and will be available on the Commission's central public consultations page in all 24 official languages of the EU. 


After completion of the external evaluation study, a presentation and discussion with the representatives from civil society in the context of the relevant Civil Dialogue Group on quality and promotion may be scheduled to receive feedback on the findings to be used as input for the preparation of the evaluation Staff Working Document.


At the end of the consultation work, an overall synopsis report will be drawn up covering the results of the different consultation activities that took place. It will be made available on the consultation website. 







Data collection and methodology






In order to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of promotion programmes, the regulatory framework requires their monitoring and evaluation. To that end, evaluators are to use the indicators for the assessment of the performance of the promotion programmes, namely:
                           - output indicators that measure the degree of implementation of the activities foreseen in the programmes;


- result indicators that measure the direct and immediate effects of the activities;


- impact indicators that measure the benefits beyond the immediate effects of the activities.



Benefits and costs of this policy will be evaluated by way of several evaluation questions. The indicators mentioned above will be used to the extent possible. Besides, specific tools to collect information and data for this evaluation will be employed by the external contractor, such as surveys and face-to-face/telephone interviews with the stakeholders. Existing data sources such as Eurostat and market information gathered by the Commission will also be used. 


The previous evaluation of the EU agricultural promotion policy before the last reform can be used as  background information (Evaluation of Promotion and Information Actions for Agricultural Products, ADE – METIS – AGROTEC, November 2011, https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/sites/agriculture/files/evaluation/market-and-income-reports/2011/promotion/fulltext_en.pdf).