Crop Diversity and Ecologization of the Common Agricultural Policy

Various studies have shown the agro-economic and agro-ecological benefits of crop diversification. However, to take the best advantage of it, crop diversification should apply to a single plot year after year, but also on a higher area scale, to a given territory. Today, a minimum degree of diversification of farm cropping patterns is part of the good agricultural and environmental practices (GAP) which determine access to Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) aid. The CAP reform under discussion for the new programming period (2014-2020) includes a first “greening” pillar by making 30% of the aid given conditional on the implementation of environmental practices going beyond GAP. One of these measures concerns the diversification of farm cropping patterns. The current study explores the impact of the first Commission proposal, as well as of several variations. On the basis of the characteristics for 2009, analyses show that nearly a quarter of French farms would become non eligible. This result is improved when a territorial approach to crop diversity criteria is adopted, which could be an alternative to an individual approach (per farm), in the form of collective commitments.