STANDARDS ON GOOD AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS OF LAND INTRODUCTORY HANDBOOK ©unsplash.com/Aleksey Petkovic STANDARDS ON GOOD AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS OF LAND INTRODUCTORY HANDBOOK Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Budapest, 2021 Required citation: FAO, 2021. Standards on good agricultural and environmental conditions of land – Introductory handbook. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. 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Cover photograph: © unsplash.com/Joseph Vary iii CONTENTS iv ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS 1 WHAT ARE STANDARDS ON GOOD AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS OF LAND? 4 GOOD AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION 1: MAINTENANCE OF PERMANENT GRASSLAND 6 GOOD AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION 2: MINIMUM PROTECTION OF WETLAND AND PEATLAND 8 GOOD AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION 3: BAN ON BURNING ARABLE STUBBLE 9 GOOD AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION 4: ESTABLISHMENT OF BUFFER STRIPS ALONG WATERCOURSES 10 GOOD AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION 5: TILLAGE MANAGEMENT OR OTHER APPROPRIATE TECHNIQUES TO LIMIT THE RISK OF SOIL DEGRADATION 12 GOOD AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION 6: MINIMUM SOIL COVER IN PERIOD(S) AND AREAS THAT ARE MOST SENSITIVE 14 GOOD AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION 7: CROP ROTATION OR OTHER PRACTICES AIMED AT PRESERVING THE SOIL POTENTIAL 16 GOOD AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION 8: MAINTENANCE OF NON-PRODUCTIVE FEATURES AND AREA CONTRIBUTING TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF ON-FARM BIODIVERSITY 18 GOOD AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION 9: BAN ON CONVERTING OR PLOUGHING OF PERMANENT GRASSLAND IN NATURA 2000 SITES iv ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS CAP ............................................................................................................................. common agricultural policy (of the European Union) FaST .......................................................................................................................................................... farm sustainability tool for nutrients ha ......................................................................................................................................................hectare (1 ha = 10 000 square meters) GAEC.................................................................................................................................. good agricultural and environmental conditions IACS ..........................................................................................................................................integrated administration and control system IT ....................................................................................................................................................................................information technology LPIS ................................................................................................................................................................land parcel identification system SMR .........................................................................................................................................................statutory management requirements UAA ...........................................................................................................................................................................utilized agricultural area © unsplash.com/Ivan Aleksic Introductory handbook 1 WHAT ARE STANDARDS ON GOOD AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS OF LAND (GAEC)? European Union farmers must respect cross-compliance Member States are responsible for administrating GAECs The European Union Common Agricultural Policy, accounting for 37 The GAEC standards are not “recommendations” but a set of percent of total European Union expenditure, supports European compulsory requirements that each European Union Member Union farmers through a range of payment schemes. In return, State must adhere to. However, the European Union-level good farmers must respect a set of European Union rules on environmental agricultural and environmental conditions rules set just the essence protection, animal and plant health, and food safety. The interplay of each GAEC standard, in few words – without a list of options, between this respect for rules and the support provided to farmers is exemptions, etc. The exact good agricultural and environmental called cross-compliance. conditions requirements that farmers must meet must be set by Member States, not at the European Union level. Member States are … including its environmental requirements the main administrators of GAEC implementation. They must establish a definition and requirements of each GAEC for their agricultural Cross-compliance is an important tool for integrating environmental circumstances, taking into account the specific characteristics of requirements into the Common Agricultural Policy. It ensures that the areas concerned. These include soil and climatic conditions, support granted to farmers contributes to promoting sustainable existing farming systems, land use, crop rotation, farming practices agriculture and the environmental objectives of the European Union. and farm structures. Additionally, Member States also must set up In other words, environmental cross-compliance requirements make management, inspection and sanctions systems for GAEC . Member sure that public money is paid for farming that serves public policy States may implement a given standard differently for different objectives and promotes the provision of environmentally related regions, according to soil, climate, land use, farming structures, etc. public goods and services. Environmental cross-compliance is made Member States also may lay down additional, stricter standards to up of: meet European Union objectives, but they are not permitted to water down the minimum GAEC requirements defined by the European 1. Statutory management requirements, which are a selected number Commission. Serbia has been setting up its own GAEC standards of obligations incorporated in the scope of cross-compliance and rules, too. It is hoped that this handbook will help along the way. rules from existing European Union environmental directives and regulations. Statutory management requirements are agricultural Inspection of the implementation of GAEC standards management standards (provisions) drawn from the application of relevant articles of these directives and regulations. GAEC inspections involve verification that farmers are complying with the prescribed standards. In principle, 1