Agriculture Task Force

Why is Agriculture Important?

Agricultural land covers a total of 5 million km² of Europe's land surface. It is by far the single biggest influence on the European countryside and Agricultural land is a very important habitat in terms of nature conservation.

Most developed countries, not just the EU, agree that agriculture suffers from special social and economic problems that do not affect other industries. Objectives established in current agricultural policy were originally aimed to provide reliable food supplies at reasonable prices and to prevent chronic food surpluses and shortages which can be a feature of complete free trade in agricultural products.

R Grimmett/BirdLife The spread of Eucalyptus plantations has been a major threat to the steppe habitat of Portugal and Spain. Castro Verde, Portugal. Zoom In

Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

The basic aim of the CAP, which was developed and adopted by the European Union after the Second World War, was to provide efficient farmers with an income comparable to that of people outside farming in the service and industrial sectors, while ensuring that consumers received adequate supplies of food at reasonable prices.

The policy is called "common" because there are harmonised prices and rules between the EU member states. Designed to support agricultural markets, the CAP works through restricting imports, encouraging exports and providing payments as incentives for production.

Why was the Task Force set up?

Intensification of agriculture and the effects on biodiversity has always been of great concern to conservationists. The Agriculture Task Force was established in 1992 to investigate this. A BirdLife study, using data from the last 30 years, has proved that the intensification of agriculture has done more damage to Europe's bird species than any other single factor, including the effects of climate change, pollution and deforestation.

The report shows that across 30 European countries, those with the most intensive farming have suffered the most rapidly declining bird populations. There is a direct link between population declines of once common birds and
indicators of agricultural intensification.

In addition, during the 1980s the CAP became increasingly costly as production levels, encouraged by the market support measures, continued to rise. Intervention, which was originally designed to be triggered when prices were particularly low, was in more or less continuous operation. Despite reform the CAP in the last decade, the policy is still costly to the European tax payer.

What does the Task Force do?

The group focuses on the implications for biodiversity of the Common Agricultural Policy and works towards reforming it by working with appropriate advisory committees of the European Commission to:

• Integrate the environment into the CAP
• Develop practical and effective Agri-environmental programmes
• Liaise with accession countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

It also works on trade in agricultural products, Forestry and Water resources.

For more information on the activities of the Task Force contact the BirdLife European Community Office, email:
bleco@birdlife.org