European Commission proposes new plan to provide subsidies to farmers for saving water

World World: The European Commission has worked on a proposal to give farmers new subsidies for investing in water savings when the EU’s massive agricultural subsidy scheme is up for renewal again. According to a draft from the Commission, the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) programme is worth a total of 387 billion euros for 2021-2027, about a third of the union’s total budget.

The policy proposal suggests giving farmers new “transition packages” to improve water management, given the growing pressure on the agricultural sector from climate change and industry. Under the proposal, farmers could be given subsidies for drought-resistant crops or equipment that wastes less water than traditional irrigation systems.

The agricultural sector is being hit hardest by climate change, and Europe’s farmers are already suffering from increasing droughts and floods, which have badly affected recent grain and fruit harvests. Despite this, the EU has slowed down on other environmental measures, especially due to opposition from farmers.