General overview of the situation in Rural Areas in the MS

Cyprus

There are 45 199 farm units in Cyprus, out of which 99% are private. On average, each farm consists of 35 decares (equivalent to 3.5 ha). Characteristics of the sector are small farm size and large number of farms, aging and low level of education of farmer population, dry-hot climate, low soil fertility and lack of water, which all intensify the competitiveness problems of the agriculture sector. Positive aspects include progress in livestock production (e.g. pigs, cows) and the production of Mediterranean products that benefit from the country’s climatic conditions.

The main pressures from agriculture in the SWOT under the section “environment and land management” include biodiversity, water, the abandonment of rural agricultural land, intensification of production and soil erosion.

Some of the main water-related problems in the agricultural sector include water scarcity and rising water demand, over-abstraction of aquifers, salt intrusion as well as nitrate pollution because of intensification of agriculture. Water resource issues but also the Water Framework Directive (WFD) implementation are explicitly mentioned in the general context of environmental issues. Reference is made to the WFD Article 5 characterisation report, which identified several water bodies in Cyprus at risk of failing the WFD environmental objectives (partly due to agricultural pressures). Furthermore, it is mentioned that the RDP 2007-2013 could play a significant role in reaching the objectives of the WFD. However, there is lack of reference to issues of hydro-morphological quality of water bodies (related to construction of dams and reservoirs).

Less favoured areas mainly face soil and climatic disadvantages and need support to continue using agricultural land. The area under organic farming is 1684.3 ha (ca. 1.2% of agricultural land). Products from organic farming are characterized as competitive and have future perspective (aim to increase their surface).

No LEADER activities explicitly relate to water.

More than 85% of the public budget is equally spent on Axis I and Axis II, and both contain measures that address water issues. In general, most RDP water-related measures in Cyprus refer to water quality issues (issue of fertilizers, plant protection substances etc) and less to water quantity issues. Water quantity is addressed mainly through Axis I measures, specifically through investments under code 121 and 125 that support land reclamation works, reservoirs for rainwater harvest, improvement of irrigation systems and water supply works. The remaining budget is allocated to axis 3 and LEADER.

In the RDP of Cyprus, indicators for monitoring and evaluating the programming period 2007-2013 follow the common monitoring and evaluation framework of the EC. The RDP gives no further explicit information on water-specific indicators. No reference to the WFD is made in relation to the continuous review of the RDP.

As mentioned above, water issues are tackled by measures under both Axis I and Axis II. In general, most RDP water-related measures in Cyprus refer to water quality issues within Axis II and less to water quantity issues. Water quantity is addressed mainly through Axis I measures, which support, for instance, land reclamation works, reservoirs for rainwater harvest, improvement of irrigation systems and water supply works. Taking into account that only limited actions (mainly of technological improvement nature) to tackle water quantity problems are eligible under the RD regulation, it is considered that water quantity issues are addressed adequately.

The agri-environmental measures (AEMs) related to water can be classified into two types: (1) measures directed at farming practices and types of production (vineyards, potatoes, citrus fruit a.o.) and (2) measures directed at landscape management and genetic conservation. All in all, the AEMs planned at MS level mainly address water quality issues and only to some extent water quantity issues (water quantity is mainly addressed in the AEM on citrus fruit).

The link made to the WFD is general (in the SWOT and Environmental Impact Study) but the WFD is also named several times under various measures when describing the EC directives that a measure should be compatible with. The Art. 5 WFD assessment was explicitly considered in Annex III (Environmental Impact Study). According to the WFD Article 5 characterisation report, several water bodies in Cyprus are at risk of failing WFD environmental objectives (partly due to agricultural pressures). In this context, it is mentioned that the RDP 2007-2013 could play a significant role in reaching the objectives of the WFD.

Both water quality and quality aspects are tackled in the RDP of Cyprus. There is also explicit reference made to the WFD and its Art. 5 assessment. There is lack of reference to hydro-morphological quality issues of water bodies (related to dams/reservoirs and flow regulation), which could be an issue of improvement for future revisions.

The RDP could become more complete vis-à-vis water management if it made more explicit reference to other policy instruments in Cyprus used to address water quantity problems that partly result but also affect the agricultural sector of the country.

Czech Republic

54% of Czech Republic consists of agricultural land and less favoured areas (LFAs) represent half of it. Since 1995 the area of agricultural land has been reduced by 15,000 hectares. On the contrary, the area of forest land has been growing and now forms a third of the land resources of the Czech Republic. The area of arable land has fallen steadily in the last decade, first of all in favour of expanding areas of permanent grasslands. Half of the agricultural land resources fund is located in LFAs, where the ploughing is nonetheless still high.

The Czech agricultural sector is characterised by a dualistic farm structure with large scale corporate farms that cultivate more than 90% of the agricultural land and small scale family farms that cultivate less than 10% of the agricultural land. Around three quarters of the agricultural land are arable land, while one quarter is permanent grasses. The number of animals kept per hectare (0.58) is relatively low compared to other EU countries (EU27: 0.80 LSU per ha).

The number of organic farms then rose significantly again in 2006. In total, 134 farms began to farm organically and the total number reached 963 organic farms as of 31 December 2006. Total area under organic farming amounted to 281 535 ha as of 31 December 2006, accounting for 6.61 % of total agricultural area.

The most serious problem, by far, is water erosion. In the Czech Republic more than half of the agricultural land is potentially threatened by water erosion. Roughly 1.4 million ha of agricultural land are estimated to be damaged due to erosion. Erosion and water pollution are therefore identified as a key environmental problem together with the limited water retention ability leading to floods.

Share of public budget among the three axes

The largest budget is allocated to Axis 2 of which covers 53.8% of the public budget. It includes the protection of the quality of surface and ground water sources through measures focusing on erosion control, suitable use of agricultural land and promotion of sustainable and environmentally friendly farming in general. With a share of 23.3% of the public budget, Axis 1 is used to create a strong agri-food industry and dynamic agri-food environment, to modernise agricultural holdings and to introduce innovations. Furthermore, the funds should be used to increase the extent of training and advisory services and to reduce the average age of workers in agriculture. For Axis 3, the budget allocation of the public budget corresponds to 17.6%. The measures under this axis aim to create employment opportunities and to provide for higher incomes for rural population through the development and diversification of activities in rural areas and the promotion of rural tourism

The Czech Republic is using the indicators from the Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (CMEF). No additional indicators regarding water have been identified.

The proper implementation is controlled by on-site visual inspections, by records checks of accredited laboratories, by cross compliance inspections in databases IACS, by inspections by accredited authorities, by inspections of stored substances and checks of invoices/accountancy.

Main strengths and weakness of the RD programme as regards to water

The Rural Development Programme (RDP) makes a good effort to tackle the water related problems. The agri-environmental measures which are likely to improve water quality (e.g. by supporting environmentally friendly farming) and quantity (by e.g. supporting landscape management) related problems have a prominent place in the Czech RDP: 29% of the public budget is devoted to agri-environmental measures (AEMs). Also the measures under Axis 1 aim to support the improvement of the water status by providing support to new farm investments. The measures “Modernisation of agricultural holdings” and “Infrastructure related to the development and adaptation of agriculture” are considerably less important in terms of budget: respectively 8% and 5% of the total public expenditures budget are devoted to them. Farmers can obtain funding for measures such as “increasing storage capacity” or “making irrigation more efficient”. New irrigation projects are not considered to be funded. Further the (re)construction, upgrading and general repair of facilities controlling water regimes in forests and measures to safely drain away surface water are also part of Axis 1 funding. Under Axis 1, a measure called “Land consolidation” is used to address the issue of flooding. It involves a rational spatial arrangement of parcels of all land owners within a given cadastre territory.

Water and soil protection are explicitly put forward as one of the priorities under Axis 2 and almost 50% of Axis 2 resources are allocated to agri-environmental measures. The priority to increase the biodiversity and to improve the conservation of natural resources is likely to have a beneficial effect on water management issues (water quality, flooding). AEM are provided for specific farm types as well as for all farms, allowing targeting problems from a general and a particular point of view.

Under Axis 3, the building and reconstructions of municipality water main network distribution system and sewerage systems, including (1) waste water treatment plants or group of waste water treatment plants as well as (2) waste water treatment plants using a reed bed in specially protected areas, is supported by the Operational Programme of the Environment in municipalities with population of less than 2,000 inhabitants.

Leader can explicitly not be used for AEM and Water Framework Directive (WFD) implementation, which reduces the opportunities to develop local approaches in situations where water-agricultural conflicts exist.

Conclusions and options for further improvement of the RD with regards to water

In some areas of the Czech Republic, there is a transition phase towards modernisation and intensification, whereas in other areas there is land abandonment. Both processes can have negative impacts on water quality if not addressed carefully. While the abandonment of agricultural areas is addressed by several measures, there is still a risk that the modernisation of the agricultural sector, which is also promoted by the RDP, leads to intensification in some areas. This should be carefully monitored and measures should be reviewed in this respect carefully, especially as the indicators provided by CMEF do not fully reflect water issues.