In the middle of the negotiation process of the new CAP (Common Agricultural Policy), which spans the period 2021-2017, whose first budget was reckoned for 365.000 million euros, the integrated farming played an important role as it showed to a great extent the trend of the nowadays society, which asks for adequate, safe and quality feeding, along with for the highest respect for the environment and preservation of natural resources.
This program of agricultural production also contemplates the crops protection and genetical diversity, for the sake of a better conservation of the soil and the landscape, widening at the same time the scope of feeding possibilities.
The first guidelines of intervention of the future CAP indicate as priority the protection of the farmers against the excessive unsteadiness of the market as far as prices and downwards fluctuations are concerned. For this reason, they try to help them to invest in the renewal of their explotations, keeping manageable rural communities with diversified economies which could be capable of creating vacancies and retaining posts in the domain of food-manufacturing industry.
The integrated farming needs also an updated agricultural machinery park, of ultimate generation, as a necessary tool to increase efficiency and performances. Not only as far as tractors or self-propelled units are concerned, but also for every sort of agricultural implements depending on every task, agricultural sprayers among them, lift-mounted, trailed or even self-propelled as well.
Since culture protection becomes another fundamental line of action in the next CAP, agricultural sprayers are precisely important tools for improving the production and protect the environment. The European engagement on this matter is clear if we think about the suppression of the greening in the CAP of 2012-2027, after the Government Accountability office had considered that it was not achieving the environmental goals and that it had only added complexity to its management.
During the present season of CAP, it has entered into force the prohibition of using phytosanitary products in Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs), 5% of which must be left as grassland with fixation cultures -as legume family, forestry ones or those devoted to agri and silviculture, which are useful for cashing part of the direct payments which correspond to the green area (greening).
A resolution approved by the European Parliament bets on more environment-friendly farming and stockbreeding devoted definitively to the innovation, research and practices of smart agriculture. The integrated farming, unlike the environment-friendly one, allows the use of agrochemicals of synthesis (fertilizers, pesticides, etc.), even though it aims at using them as little as possible and despite that these are restricted in the Specific Technical Rules of production for each crop, they are only allowed just in case there are no alternatives which could be feasible. But, above all, the new CAP must allow those devoted to farming supply high quality food to the European citizens, which is going to require steady investments in agricultural machinery.
Either way, the discussion about CAP 2021-2027 is open and will persist for some months. Every member state must define its position and Spain and the Central Government is working for unifying the disparate interests of the Autonomous Communities.
What seems to be clear is that a step forward will be given for environmental issues, with subsidies through voluntary regimes. Farming will become even more professional, agricultural machinery is and will be in their different forms fundamental and in the new approaching scene, agricultural sprayers will reinforce its position as allies in the development of good agricultural practices.
