The James Hutton Institute
This page is no longer updated. The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute joined forces with SCRI on 1 April 2011 to create The James Hutton Institute.
THE STATE OF SCOTLAND'S FARMED ENVIRONMENT 2005
17. CROSS-COMPLIANCE: GOOD AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION
The latest CAP reform introduced cross compliance, consisting of Statutory Management Requirements and Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC), which must be complied by farmers to receive the single farm payment from January 2005 (see BN: Cross Compliance: Statutory Management Requirements). The framework for GAEC has been established in the European Legislations Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 (OJ L270, 21.10.2003) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 796/2003 (OJ L141, 30.04.2004) , but member states, and regions such as Scotland, have been given discretion to interpret GAEC in their own way considering different national conditions. The Scottish definition of GAEC was drawn up by SEERAD to recognise 'the wide variability of soils, habitats and farming systems throughout Scotland ' and to be a framework 'which applied flexibly to a wide range of farmed environments'. GAEC is defined by reference to a number of measures and management practices that need to be adhered to covering soil erosion, soil organic matter, soil structure and minimum level of maintenance (SEERAD, 2004).
Aim
GAEC aims to maintain and safeguard the agricultural and environmental conditions of agricultural land. From 2005, the Single Farm Payment, with cross-compliance, will form Tier 1 of Land Management Contracts (LMCs) in Scotland , providing a minimum level of protection against environmental deterioration, along with animal welfare and food safety.
Cross Compliance - Implementation >>