Spain: What barriers do farmers face in accessing land?
The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture publishes the "Study on access to land" exploring the opportunities and possible practical solutions to facilitate access to land and the inclusion of young farmers in the sector.
The study delves into the detection and origin of the barriers farmers face in accessing land. It also identifies opportunities and known successful initiatives to address possible practical solutions to a complex situation.
The ministry promoted the creation of the Land Access Focus Group, a multidisciplinary team of more than 30 experts, which analyzed the issue of access to land throughout 2020.
This study is part of the work of the future National Strategic Plan for the implementation of the CAP in Spain, within the Specific Objective 7 dedicated to attracting young farmers and facilitating business development in rural areas. It was identified that improving access to land is one of the main needs for the incorporation of young people in rural areas, thus facilitating generational change.
Barriers associated with access to land
Among the obstacles associated with access to agricultural land, the study highlights the following:
- Low mobility
- Land availability and affordability
- High price of buying and renting
- Costly and complex procedures
- Tax obligations
- Excessive initial outlay of the agricultural activity
- Lack of advice on farming and business models
- Lack of knowledge about available land
- Poor relationship between the farmer leaving the activity and the farmer seeking to start it up
Report conclusions
The report notes "current measures to support young farmers do not appear to be bringing about substantive changes in generational change and access to land, nor do they seem likely to do so". The experts therefore draw up a long list of suggestions divided into five main blocks. The following is a short summary of their main measures:
- Land transfer and land management policies:
a) Reforming and updating the regulatory framework so that it can be adapted to reality and focused on solving the problem of land abandonment.
b) Updating the farm registry, addressing the problem from a territorial perspective, and integrating mixed farms.
c) Being inclusive in the generational handover model, also encouraging extra-family handover and taking advantage of pre-existing social ties between rural and urban areas.
2. Agricultural policies: the CAP and Spanish regulations:
(a) Adaptation of the definitions of genuine farmer and professional farmer to make them more inclusive.
(b) Encouraging early retirement at the age of 65, linking it to the setting up of a young person.
(c) Support for investments aimed at the purchase of land by young people in investment aid, even if the first installation aid is not applied for at the same time.
(d) Extension of the scope of application of installation aids to those over 40 years of age; extension to 0.5 AWU the qualification of Priority Agricultural Holdings.
(e) Establishing a legal mechanism that allows public administrations to assign the use of unmanaged unowned land to third parties.
3. Training and access to the agricultural profession:
(a) Improving advice on the management and viability of farm investments and land purchases.
(b) Mentoring programs, linked to practical training and the adaptation of the young farmer to the actual farm.
4. Financing and taxation:
(a) Simultaneous use of capital aid and financial instruments.
(b) Discounts on social security contributions or tax exemptions on capital gains for the sale of land to young farmers.
(c) Promoting shared ownership and, above all, full ownership by women.
(d) Improving the use of the opportunities offered by the CAP.
5. Access to information:
(a) Development of a digital platform, containing all relevant information to access land and settle in the agricultural sector, as a common place for all public and private parties.
(b) Emphasizing the importance of cadastral data and geographic information, as well as detailed land market information and the ability to identify abandoned land.
(c) Highlighting the importance of cadastral data and geographic information, as well as detailed land market information and the ability to identify abandoned land.
