EVALUATION OF THE SET ASIDE MEASURE 2000 TO 2006

The set aside measure consists in the obligation for farmers to leave a given portion of the agricultural land on their farms in fallow (i.e. out of production), as a condition for benefiting from direct payments (cropspecific coupled payments before the 2003 CAP reform; single farm payment afterwards). The obligation can be fulfilled also by cultivating non food crops on set aside land under the “non food on set aside” (NFSA) regime. Five-year voluntary set aside was introduced in 1988. With the 1992 CAP reform, set aside became a compulsory measure aimed at supply control, and specific area payments were associated to it. The need for a sound environmental management of set aside land was recognised. The NFSA regime was introduced. With the “Agenda 2000” reform of 1999 the provisions governing the measure were not substantially modified. Compulsory set aside rate was set at 10%. Set aside area payments were calculated by multiplying the basic amount per tonne by the average cereal yield determined in the regionalisation plan for the region concerned. The CAP reform of 2003 introduced a new system of decoupled payments linked to cross-compliance requirements (“single payment scheme” - SPS). The role of set aside as an instrument for supply control was confirmed; in addition, the positive environmental effects of the measure were explicitly recognised. Set aside obligations were maintained in the form of special “set aside entitlements”, which trigger a payment only if the land on which they are activated is set aside from production or cultivated with non food crops. The main elements of the measure remained unchanged: however some specific provisions for applying the measure followed the different options for implementing the SPS chosen at Member State level.