The Rural Development Programme of Navarre 2014-2020, includes measures that:
MEASURE 10.- Agri-environment and climate:
1. Aid for the agri-environmental production of seed potatoes.
2. Sustainable livestock systems, by means of grazing and extensification.
3. Improvement of steppe agricultural habitats.
4. Preservation of sustainable Mediterranean agrosystems.
5. Preservation and improvement of local breeds in danger of abandonment.
MEASURE 11.- Organic production.
1.Conversion to organic farming methods and practices.
2. Maintenance of organic farming methods and practices.
This aid is granted to farms in Navarre which base their livestock feed on the use of forage areas by grazing. This agri-environmental measure is based on the application of premiums per hectare to compensate for the increase in costs and provide an incentive for livestock farmers to introduce the variable of environmental sustainability into their management models by means of extensive grazing. The basic objective is to maintain sustainable livestock production that contributes to the respect and conservation of biological diversity in pastures.
It is implemented at farm where cattle pasture in extensive land, farms that manage their animals under extensification conditions (<1.5 LU/ha). The cattle breeds eligible for this aid are autochthonous and/or endangered breeds. These are farms where a large part of the feed comes from natural grazing resources and in winter they are supplemented mainly with their own fodder.
This good practice does not require any additional costs. Farmers receive a subsyde for producing under a resilient sustainable system, which may initially result in lower incomes. Indirectly, the fact that animals are kept in a free-range system results in a high standard of animal welfare as long as water and feed necesities are controlled. This manage does not lead higher veterinary costs and in general the animals live more years in the farm.
The impact on environmental sustainability is the contribution to maintain sustainable livestock production that contributes to the respect and conservation of biological diversity in pastures.
The following table shows what this direct aid to farmers has meant in the last 5 years.
