40. #eco-schemes: One country, two systems: eco-schemes on farms in Belgium

Belgium holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union until 30 June 2024. In this episode, therefore, Food for Europe is focusing on Belgian agriculture, and specifically on ‘eco-schemes’: measures proposed to farmers in the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to encourage an even broader adoption of sustainable practices. As agriculture is a regional competence in Belgium, Dutch-speaking Flanders and largely French-speaking Wallonia each have their own CAP strategic plans and eco-schemes – a unique situation in the European Union. Food for Europe takes you to the linguistic border of the country to meet Thomas Fastré, a Walloon farmer who is confronted every year with an administrative headache that is far from unique in Belgium. He shares his experience of one year of running eco-schemes, and shares suggestions to improve the system. At his side, Emmanuelle Escarnot, agricultural policy advisor to the Walloon government, explains more about eco-schemes in Wallonia and makes an initial assessment of their impact. Belinda Cloet, who is in charge of policy coordination of the Agency for Agriculture and Fisheries in the Flemish government, shows us a different Flemish strategy for eco-schemes, but one that is also bearing fruit. Jonas Lemaire, farmer and president of the Groene Kring trade union in Flemish Brabant, shares with us how eco-schemes have led him to adopt new practices, and echoes some of the contrasting opinions among Flemish farmers. Finally, Marc Blondiau, programme manager at the European Commission’s DG AGRI, discusses the essence of eco-schemes and the discussions underway at the European Commission to try to reduce the administrative burden on farmers.