As of this year, the planning of the “New CAP” 2023-2027 has started. Let’s find out the reference documents.
2023, the year of the “New CAP”
In the pages devoted to the EAFRD , the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, we have already described the main aspects of the transition that took place at the beginning of this year, which marked the start of a new programming phase of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
In fact, the previous 2014-2020 programming, which rested on Rural Development Programs drawn up on a regional basis, was extended to the two-year period 2021-2022 to ensure the technical time needed to set up the new system. The “New CAP” regulation was approved by the European institutions on December 2, 2021, came into force on January 1, 2023, and includes some important changes:
- A focus on 10 key-goals , dedicated to improvement: (1) Of farmers’ income, (2) Of competitiveness, (3) Of farmers’ position in the food supply chain, (4) Of combating climate change, (5) Of environmental protection, (6) Of landscape and biodiversity preservation, (7) Of generational turnover, (8) Of the dynamism of rural areas, (9) Of food quality and health, and (10) Of agricultural and rural knowledge and innovation. Through the links you can to a detailed analysis for each goal;
- The definition of specific objectives and a CAP Strategic Plan (SPP) for each country (here is a summary of the Italian one );
- Increased attention to environmental aspects, equity criteria, innovation and competitiveness of the sector, defined in a monitoring framework very precise, based on indicators of output , of result and impact indicators that are shared and common . Specifically, the 44 outcome indicators are monitored through a common platform for all EU countries.
The main changes introduced at the community level and their updates are available through this dedicated website .
Focus on rural innovation: AKIS interventions.
The main changes introduced at the community level and their updates are available through this dedicated website .
This new structure highlights the continuing evolution of the world of agricultural and rural funds; an evolution that underlies the Guide’s partnership with Filiera Futura , a national association made up of banking foundations, universities and trade bodies created to promote the agribusiness sector through innovative and shared projects.
Interventions specifically dedicated to strengthening knowledge and innovation in the agricultural and rural sectors are one of the important new features among the funding under the “new CAP” and are summarized in the acronym “AKIS” (Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems). AKIS interventions focus on the areas of consulting, training, research, business and citizen support services, and the role of public administration, with the aim of strengthening the competitiveness of the agricultural and rural sector and agribusinesses.
You can consult here a review of the status of AKIS implementation in Italy, here a full report , here a presentation of their role and expected impact at the European level, and here a presentation of the AKIS interventions envisaged by the CAP Strategic Plan in Italy.
Rural fund programming, reference documents for Italy
The two-year “transitional” period 2021-2022 was used to fine-tune this system and in particular, in the case of Italy, to more precisely define the articulation between the CAP Strategic Plan (SPP), which as of this year is a common reference for the entire country, and the individual regional entities and institutions, which have always been implementers and managers of European rural funds in their respective territories.
This articulation came about through the confirmation of regional planning and management of EAFRD funds (as was previously done through the Rural Development Programs, or RDPs), albeit with a view to full consistency and integration with the CAP National Strategic Plan.
The reference documents at the regional level are called. Complements for Rural Development (CSR), and are already available and operational for most Italian regions.
While waiting to update the dedicated section of our Guide, we provide below a selection of the national and regional reference documents already available. The list is not yet complete because CSRs are being updated and published by individual regions.
The information can be accessed from the website of the National Rural Network (and in particular from this page ) and from the websites of the Italian regions in the sections devoted to rural development and agriculture. For consistency of presentation we present below the documents available as of April 2023, but we encourage you to consult the dedicated websites for further updates.
The same documents will soon be presented in the section from the Guide devoted to Structural Funds .
The CAP Strategic Plan and Rural Development Complements.
CAP Strategic Plan (SPP) – Italy
An event dedicated to the role of young people in the agricultural and rural world
We conclude this brief review by pointing out an event organized in Praglia (PD)by Filiera Futura and Fondazione Cariparo, recently concluded, titled “Back to Earth. New Generations in Service to the Planet.” where, among other topics, the relevance of European funding in initiating innovation processes was addressed. It is possible to consult at the following links the initiative program, the press release and the full video Of the roundtable discussion.
