Billions in Misspent EU Agricultural Subsidies Could Support the Sustainable Development Goals.

ABSTRACT: The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the guiding policy for agriculture and the largest single budget item in the European Union (EU). Agriculture is essential to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but the CAP's contribution to do so is uncertain. We analyzed the distribution of €59.4 billion of 2015 CAP payments and show that current CAP spending exacerbates income inequality within agriculture, while little funding supports climate-friendly and biodiverse farming regions. More than €24 billion of 2015 CAP direct payments went to regions where average farm incomes are already above the EU median income. A further €2.5 billion in rural development payments went to primarily urban areas. Effective monitoring indicators are also missing. We recommend redirecting and better mon

SUBMITTER: Scown MW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7441947 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature