COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION of the impact of the CAP on generational renewal, local development and jobs in rural areas
Date: 2021-04-08
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: EU aid, agricultural situation, aid to agriculture, common agricultural policy, farmer, farming sector, generation renewal, rural development, rural region, young farmer

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 8.4.2021  SWD(2021) 79 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION of the impact of the CAP on generational renewal, local development and jobs in rural areas {SWD(2021) 78 final}  
 
 
In 2016, for every farm manager under 40 in the EU there were three farm managers over 65. 
The ageing of Europe’s farmers is one of the greatest challenges facing rural areas in the EU.  

The purpose of this evaluation was to assess whether the instruments offered by the CAP are 
sufficient – and sufficiently used – to promote generational renewal, local development and 
jobs  in  rural  areas.  The  measures  assessed  in  the  evaluation  are  those  most  relevant  for 
generational  renewal:  (i)  direct  payment  support  to  young  farmers;  (ii)  investment  support; 
and  (iii)  business  start-up  aid  (‘CAP  generational-renewal  measures’).  The  analysis  in  this 
evaluation  focuses  mainly  on  farming,  as  the  CAP  is  not  the  most  significant  factor 
influencing  generational  renewal  in  rural  areas  outside  farming.  The  evaluation  faced  a 
number  of  challenges  and  constraints  due  to  the  limited  availability  of  detailed  and 
homogenous  data,  the  narrow  observation  period,  and  the  limited  geographical  coverage  of 
certain  analyses.  However,  combining  multiple  qualitative  and  quantitative  analyses,  the 
evaluation draws relevant conclusions. 

The evaluation finds that the impact of CAP generational-renewal measures on the number of 
young farmers is  mostly positive,  but small in  some regions, notably in  those lacking basic 
infrastructure  and  services.  This  positive  impact  also  depends  on  other  factors,  including 
socio-cultural  and  wider  economic  incentives/disincentives  for  people  to  farm  and  live  in 
rural  areas.  For  this  reason,  CAP  generational-renewal  measures  cannot  be  evaluated  in 
isolation from other EU policies, wider socio-economic conditions in rural areas and national 
measures and regulations.  

CAP  generational-renewal  measures  improve  the  performance  of  farm  businesses,  their 
resilience,  and  the  secure  transfer  of  farms  from  the  older  to  the  younger  generation. 
However, instead of encouraging farm succession, these measures are more likely to increase 
the  socio-economic  sustainability  of  farm  businesses  after  young  farmers  have  set-up  their 
business.  In  addition,  CAP  generational-renewal  measures  are  not  well  suited  to  off-family 
farm transfer. 

Access to land and capital are the main barriers to entering the farming sector. Generational-
renewal  aid  provides  funding  to  help  new  farmers  with:  (i)  the  general  costs  following  the 
set-up of their farm; and (ii) early-years investment support. However, this aid will often be 
insufficient on its own to address these barriers because CAP funding cannot address some of 
the  wider  issues,  which  prevent  the  efficient  functioning  of  land  and  credit  markets.  In 
addition,  in  some  regions,  CAP  income  support  may  slow  down  inter-generational  farm 
transfer. This is because older farmers may prefer to keep these payments to compensate for 
low  pensions  (highlighting  the  potential  role  of  national  pension  schemes  in  encouraging 
generational renewal). Nevertheless, Pillar I support is only one of many factors explaining 
the inactive land market. Facilitating access to land and capital may also require changes to 
improve  the  coherence  of  national  legal,  social  and  fiscal  policies  with  CAP  generational-
renewal goals.  

Although  the  training  level  of  young  farm  managers  under  35  has  increased  over  time,  in 
2016 only 43% of  young farmers had received more than practical on-the-job training. The 
analysis shows the benefits of providing more formal training and advice as a condition for 
accessing capital  grants,  start-up aid and/or Pillar I  young-farmer supplement. When advice 
and  training  are  provided  under  these  conditions,  the  link  between  generational-renewal 
measures and increased inter-generational knowledge exchange is clear and positive. 

It  is  also  very  important  to  target  well  the  support  given  to  local  areas.  Rural-development 
aid,  in  complement  to  other  EU  policies  such  as  the  regional  and  cohesion  funds,  that 
rural  economic  diversification,  added-value,  better  services,  and  better 
promotes 

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infrastructure  (including  broadband)  is  potentially  vital  to  improving  the  broader  economic 
climate, particularly in remote areas. The best evidence of the sustained and positive impact 
of CAP  support can be  seen in  Member States that  follow a strategic approach, in  which  a 
variety of measures and instruments are used in a complementary way, including: (i) funding 
and  investment  aid  for  business  start-ups;  (ii)  advice  and  training;  and  (iii)  incentives  for 
collaborative 
inter-
generational transfer. The delivery and impact of CAP generational-renewal measures would 
be improved if Member States developed integrated approaches, using in a coherent way: (i) 
multiple  CAP  and  non-  CAP  instruments;  (ii)  institutions;  and  (iii)  broader  legislative  and 
fiscal provisions. 

institutional  arrangements  and/or  fiscal  arrangements 

that  ease 

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