Maria Walsh: Ring-fence 10% of CAP for Young Farmers
Maria Walsh addressed the European Parliament on generation renewal, reviewing almost 600 amendments and urging investment in the next generation of farmers. She highlighted cross-party support for a proposal to ring-fence 10% of the future CAP budget for interventions supporting young farmers.
Maria Walsh thanked colleagues for nearly 600 amendments and stressed the unusually broad consensus among political groups. She flagged cross-party backing for ring-fencing 10% of the future CAP budget to support generation renewal, sending a clear signal ahead of CAP negotiations.
Walsh argued that the CAP alone cannot solve generation renewal. The report, she said, must address the whole farming journey: entry to the sector, fair succession, mentoring and building the right conditions for older farmers to pass on their holdings with confidence.
The MEP underlined access to land and access to finance as two of the biggest barriers for young people without inherited assets. She also welcomed stronger support for women in agriculture through finance, mentoring and fair succession planning.
Walsh emphasised that successful generation renewal depends on advisory services, education, innovation, housing, childcare, healthcare, broadband and strong rural communities. She framed generation renewal as not only an agricultural issue but an economic and rural development priority for the EU.
Maria Walsh committed to working constructively across political groups to prepare compromise amendments, while preserving the report's central ambition. She noted technical discussions begin mid-September with the first shadow at the end of September, and called for coordinated action on CAP and the MFF to invest in young farmers.
Amendments and political agreement
Maria Walsh thanked colleagues for nearly 600 amendments and stressed the unusually broad consensus among political groups. She flagged cross-party backing for ring-fencing 10% of the future CAP budget to support generation renewal, sending a clear signal ahead of CAP negotiations.
Beyond CAP: the whole farming journey
Walsh argued that the CAP alone cannot solve generation renewal. The report, she said, must address the whole farming journey: entry to the sector, fair succession, mentoring and building the right conditions for older farmers to pass on their holdings with confidence.
Key barriers: land, finance and inclusion
The MEP underlined access to land and access to finance as two of the biggest barriers for young people without inherited assets. She also welcomed stronger support for women in agriculture through finance, mentoring and fair succession planning.
Rural services and economic viability
Walsh emphasised that successful generation renewal depends on advisory services, education, innovation, housing, childcare, healthcare, broadband and strong rural communities. She framed generation renewal as not only an agricultural issue but an economic and rural development priority for the EU.
Next steps and timelines
Maria Walsh committed to working constructively across political groups to prepare compromise amendments, while preserving the report's central ambition. She noted technical discussions begin mid-September with the first shadow at the end of September, and called for coordinated action on CAP and the MFF to invest in young farmers.
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Transcript
Thank you very much Chair, I appreciate that. I'd like to thank all colleagues for almost 600 amendments tabled, not as close to MEP Norbert Linz no doubt, but 600 is still a great amount from across political groupings. The level of engagement really shows just how important generation renewal is and I truly appreciate the efforts colleagues have made in political groupings to put this work together. Having reviewed the amendments, I was encouraged to see broad consensus among many of the report's core proposals. I was particularly pleased to see a broad cross-party support for the proposal to ring fence 10% of the future cap budget for interventions supporting young farmers and generation renewal. It's not often that we see this level of agreement in this House, but I believe it sends a very clear political signal at exactly the right time as discussions on the future of cap are about to begin. The amendments also reinforce something that has been central to this report from the very beginning. While the cap is our most important tool, it cannot solve this challenge on its own and we need to look beyond cap support alone, considering the whole farming journey from helping young people enter the sector to creating the right conditions for older generations to pass on their farms with confidence and security. The amendments also confirm that although we come from very different political families and naturally have different political priorities, there's far more that unites us than divides us, particularly on this report. A broad agreement for the access of land remains one of the biggest barriers facing young farmers. We heard that from previous interventions on generation renewal and in public hearings also. There's a broad agreement that access to finance must improve, especially for those without inherited assets or collateral. I was also pleased to see strong support for improving opportunities for women in agriculture, to pick up your point there, Chair, through better access to finance, dedicated mentoring programmes, fair succession planning and greater recognition of the role women play in the future of our farming sector. There's also widespread recognition that successful generation renewal depends on much more than just agriculture alone. It depends on good advisory services, education and innovation, but also on housing, childcare, healthcare, broadband and a strong rural community. Perhaps the clearest message from all 576 amendments is that farming must be economically viable. It's important that young people not choose farming unless they can build a successful business, earn a fair income and enjoy a good quality of life. That is why generation renewal is just not an agricultural issue. It's an economic issue, it's imperative and it's about rural development issue also. To flag what Commissioner Suiska said in the wool debate last Thursday, 80 odd percent of our European Union is rural and therefore we have to support and develop it continuously, not just through agriculture but also through regional development. And ultimately it's about the future of our EU as a whole. No single policy can achieve this on its own and no single institution can solve it alone, but we have to start somewhere and this report is our opportunity to send a very clear message that we believe in our young farmers and we are ready to invest in the next generation through this file as well as into the common agriculture policy and the MFF overall. Over the coming weeks I look forward to working constructively with all political groups as we prepare compromise amendments. My priority is to build broad agreement while preserving the central ambition of this report, which is to make generation renewal a genuine strategic priority for European agriculture and really build that trust for our young farmers. Technicals begin mid-September, our first shadow I believe at the end of September, so plenty of time for everybody to enjoy their holidays and then we get back to work in September. Thanks.