National Agricultural Research Foundation (N.AG.RE.F.)

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• National Agricultural Research Foundation
  (N.AG.RE.F.)
• Komotini Agricultural Research Station Merarhias
  Serron 18, Komotini 69 100, Greece

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The prospects of the European Sericulture within
the frame of the EU Common Agricultural Policy
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Kipriotis Evripidis, M.Sc., Ph.D.

• National Agricultural Research Foundation
  (N.AG.RE.F.)
• Komotini Agricultural Research Station Merarhias
  Serron 18, Komotini 69 100, Greece

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Agriculture in EU

• The European Union (EU) is characterised by a
  predominantly rural geography, influenced by
  human occupation and activity.
• The various rural areas show particular
  differences, since their natural environments
  have been affected by numerous schemes of farming
  and forestry and the associated with them crafts
  and industries.
• Agriculture and forestry in the EU represent the
  major land users, having in this way a dominant
  role in influencing the rural economies and the
  rural landscape as well.

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EU agriculture is a multi-dimensional activity

• It involves many different functions and among
  them the major ones are
• Food and fibre production
• Countryside management
• Nature conservation
• Tourism

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The EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

• Europes agricultural policy is determined as
  Common Agricultural Policy ( CAP)
• It is monitored by the governments of Member
  States and operated by the Member States.
• It involves support to the farmers income and
  also encourages the production of high quality
  products and the development of additional ways
  of improving the agricultural businesses.

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The EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

• The first ideas concerning a European CAP first
  appeared, among the western European countries,
  in early 1950s derived from the need for
  guaranteed food supplies.
• This early CAPs attempt was to encourage better
  productivity in the food chain and provide to the
  consumers a stable supply of affordable food.
• This early CAP approached its goals by offering
  subsidies and guaranteed prices to farmers and
  also financial assistance for the restructuring
  of farming.
• The adopted by the European countries CAP was
  very successful in meeting its objective of
  moving the newly established EU towards
  self-sufficiency. By the 1980s though, the EU
  faced almost permanent surpluses of the major
  farm commodities, some of which were exported,
  mostly with the help of subsidies.
• These necessary measures created a high budgetary
  cost and distorted some world markets, driving to
  the necessity of some reforms.

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The CAP of today

• Since those first attempts many changes had been
  made to the CAP
• The most important of them around the 1990s.
• Through this limits put on the production helped
  to reduce product surpluses.
• Emphasis also was placed on environmentally sound
  of farming.
• Farmers had to activate themselves more to the
  direction of market place, while receiving direct
  income aid by means of subsidies
• This shift of emphasis included as major new
  element the rural development policy, encouraging
  farmers to diversify and improve their product
  marketing and to restructure their businesses.
• In 2003 a further fundamental reform was agreed.
• From then on farmers are no longer paid just to
  produce food.
• Todays CAP takes consumers and taxpayers
  concerns fully into account, while giving EU
  farmers the freedom to produce what the market
  wants.
• The concept of this reform is that in future, the
  vast majority of aid to farmers will be paid
  independently of what or how much they produce.

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The CAP of today

• In the past, the more farmers produced the more
  subsidy payments they received.
• Under the new system farmers will still receive
  direct income payments to maintain income
  stability, but the link to production has been
  set aside.
• In addition, farmers will have to respect
  standards concerning environment, food safety and
  animal welfare and farmers failing to do this
  will face reductions in their direct payments.
• Removing the link between subsidies and
  production, the so termed decoupling, is
  expected to make EU farmers more competitive and
  market-oriented.
• They will be free to produce according to what is
  most profitable for them while still obtaining a
  stability of income through the direct income
  payments.

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The CAP of today

• Within these frames the exceptional nature and
  quality of some products derives from both their
  place of production and the methods used to make
  them.
• Both consumers and the food trade are
  increasingly interested in the geographical
  origin of products and other characteristics of
  them.
• The EU has developed to this direction three
  quality logos connected to Protected
  Designations of Origin and Protected Geographical
  Indications (PDO and PGI).
• They both apply to agricultural products or
  foodstuffs with a strong link to a specific
  region or place.
• The third logo is the Traditional Speciality
  Guaranteed (TSG) logo, and is used for products
  with distinctive features and which either have
  traditional ingredients or are made using
  traditional methods.

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The CAP of today gives also attention to specific
activities as

• Organic agriculture
• Organic farming is a production method that
  maintains soil structure and fertility, promotes
  a high standard of animal welfare, and avoids the
  use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, chemical
  fertilisers, growth promoters such as hormones
  and antibiotics, or genetically modified
  organisms.
• By law the use of the word organic, and its
  equivalent in other languages, is reserved solely
  for products of organic farming.
• This gives guarantees to consumers about the
  quality and reliability of the organic produce
  they buy.

• Agri-environment measures and rural development
• Agri-environment schemes have been supported by
  the EU since they were introduced in 1992.
• They encourage farmers to provide environmental
  services which go beyond following good
  agricultural practice and basic legal standards.
• Aids may be paid to farmers who sign up
  voluntarily to agri-environment commitments for a
  minimum period of five years.

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The EU rural Development Policy is based on three
main instuments

• The EU strategic guidelines for Rural Development
  
• The Council Regulation on support for rural
  development by the new European Agricultural Fund
  for Rural Development (EAFRD)
• The Commission Implementing Regulation.

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The EU strategic guidelines for rural development

• Improving the competitiveness of the agricultural
  and forestry sectors
• Improving the environment and the countryside
• Improving the quality of life in rural areas and
  encouraging diversification
• Building Local Capacity for Employment and
  Diversification
• Translating priorities into programmes
• Complementarity between Community Instruments

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Sericulture in the EU today

• Silkworm rearing within the E.E.C. countries is
  practiced only in the southern part of Europe and
  more specifically in the Mediterranean and
  southern Balkan countries.
• As an agricultural activity in the present time
  holds a minor share among the rest activities.

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Sericulture in the EU today

• Sericulture in EU is considered as one of the
  protected and promoted ones, being subsidized by
  around Euro 132 per box of 20.000 eggs (EU
  Regulation 845/1972, Article 1).
• This subsidy creates a considerably interesting
  income to the farmer involved to sericulture,
  added to the cocoon value, being though at the
  same time inseparable to the mulberry
  cultivation, which provides the sole food of the
  silkworm.
• Mulberry plantation compared to other traditional
  crops becomes very interesting taking in
  consideration the fact that according to the EU
  Regulation 1782/2003 (council 23-0-2003, EU
  Journal 21-10-2003) the yearly subsidies of the
  traditional crops will be restricted up to 2012,
  something which creates opportunities for new
  mulberry plantations.

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Additional benefits of sericulture deriving from
CAP

• Article 53 of EU Regulation 1782/2003 (council
  23-0-2003, EU Journal 21-10-2003) involves
  obligation to cessation of cultivation of a
  certain percentage of the farmers total land.
• Article 54 provides a subsidizing to this
  cessation of cultivation.
• In the same time article 56 permits alternative
  uses of land during cessation of cultivation and
  leaves open the possibility of additional
  national subsidy, up to 50 of the costs for the
  establishment of perennial crops for biomass
  production onto lands under such treatment.
• The interesting point of this possibility is that
  mulberry tree is included in the perennial crops,
  being simultaneously considered as energy
  crop, for which article 88 provides an
  additional subsidy of 45 euro/ha/year.
• All the above are far more strengthened by EU
  Regulation 1257/1999 whose paragraph 3 (articles
  31 and 55) provides additional subsidy according
  the afforestated area of each country, giving to
  mulberry tree more opportunities for
  establishment.
• The above described advantages for mulberry field
  installation and further silkworm rearing can be
  additionally benefited by EU Regulation
  1257/1999, (paragraph 3 article, 55), and EU
  Title II, (chapter V, articles 13 to 21), which
  both provide subsidies for disadvantageous areas
  according to their area. Such areas in the most
  of the cases are suitable for silkworm rearing.

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Conclusions

• All the above described facts considered in
  parallel with the continuously increasing demand
  for silk products within Europe and the entire
  world as well, predispose a promising future for
  sericulture in EU countries.

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This out coming conclusion is additionally
strengthened by its complete coincidence to the
main topics and targets of the new CAP, and more
specifically

• Sericulture provides reasonable income to the
  farmer.
• It can by it self very easily participate to the
  production of Protected Designations of Origin
  and Protected Geographical Indications (PDO and
  PGI) and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG)
  products.
• It certainly contributes, due to its nature to
  sustainability and efficiency of land and labour
  use.
• It, by all means represents, a safe, clean and
  environmentally friendly production method.
• It serves rural communities, taking in
  consideration their tradition and diversity, and
  contributes to all the above described EU
  strategic guidelines.
• It definitely contributes to rural Development
  and guarantees the survival of the countryside as
  a place to live, work and visit.
• It represents by itself an ideal form of organic
  farming.

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