Action 21102 – Geo-Information Management and Control Methods (GeoCAP)
Geomatics in support of the CAP
Rural areas cover 90% of the EU territory, of which more than half is farmed. As main user of land, agriculture plays a key role in determining the state of rural economies, in the management of natural resources and as a provider of public and largely non-marketable goods and services, preserving biodiversity and landscapes, as well as contributing to the provision of clean water, soil and air.
Agricultural policy in Europe - the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) - is almost unique in being defined at EU level by the governments of Member States and implemented through regulations driven by the Commission, rather than through the implementation of Directives by Member States. The CAP aims to support farmers’ incomes while also encouraging them to produce high quality products and to adapt their agricultural practices to provide environmental services, including the preservation of a more sustainable environment. Not surprisingly, given this unique position, the CAP is one of the most significant policy instruments in financial terms. Decoupled direct aid payments stabilise farm incomes and contribute to the economic viability of farms. Market measures and risk management tools help farmers to survive during times of market crises or extreme weather events. In addition, the obligation to keep land in good agricultural and environmental conditions and the inclusion of environment, food safety, animal health and welfare standards ('cross-compliance') plays an important role in maintaining a sustainable farming sector and meeting consumers' expectations.
Since its origins in the 50’s the CAP has gone through a series of reforms in order to adapt to the changing needs of both agriculture and society. The past decade has seen the evolution of CAP legislative requirements towards information that is geo-referenced, on-line, supported by up-to-date nationwide image datasets, and consolidated in the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS).
The GeoCAP Action's focus, for the past ten years, has been to anticipate and respond to these needs. Consequently, the GeoCAP Action has become the main JRC point of contact for DG AGRI, and EU Member States and Enlargement countries’ agricultural administrations providing scientific and technical support for the IACS implementation, cross compliance implementation and information management linked to these issues.
Specific objectives of the Action
- To provide long term support to DG AGRI, all 27 Member States and enlargement countries agricultural administrations for the effective implementation of the CAP First Pillar legislation;
- To develop and harmonise control methods for checking CAP claims. It is dominated by two mainstream approaches: Control with Remote Sensing (CwRS), and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS, GPS) parcel measurement;
- To develop and harmonise methods for the updating and quality assessment of the land parcel identification system (LPIS);
- To perform pro-active long-term exploratory activities geared towards sustainable whole farm management and rural area management;
- To provide long term support to DG AGRI, all 27 Member States and enlargement countries agricultural administrations for the effective implementation of cross compliance (especially the Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC)) and Farm Advisory System (FAS);
- To assess how the CAP information requirements may evolve post-2013, taking into account the influence of other policies such as biofuels, environment, climate change, and biotech co-existence.
More information can be found on http://mars.jrc.ec.europa.eu/mars/About-us/GeoCAP.
Main customers
- DG Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI)
- DG Enlargement (ELARG)
- DG External Relations (RELEX)
- DG Regional Policy (REGIO)
- DG Enterprise and Industry (ENTR)
- DG Environment (ENV)
- DG Climate Action (CLIMA)
- Ministries of Agriculture
- CAP Subsidy paying agencies
EU Legislation and Documents supported by this Action
- Management and implementation of the direct support system as set out in Council Regulation No 73/2009.
Three main Regulations detailed its implementing rules:
- Regulation (EC) N° 1120/2009 dealing with the rules for the implementation of the Single Payment Scheme (SPS);
- Regulation (EC) N° 1121/2009 covering all direct payment schemes other than the SPS (including the Single Area Payment Scheme applied in 10 EU-12 and the Complementary National Direct Payments in the EU-12), and
- Regulation (EC) N° 1122/2009 dealing with dealing with Cross-Compliance, modulation and the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS).
- Support provided through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) is laid down in Council Regulation No. 1698/2005 for the programming period 2007-2013.
Further information
Contact Info:
Philippe LOUDJANI - Tel.: +39-0332-78 6160
E-mail: Philippe.loudjani(at)jrc.ec.europa.eu
