Access To Land
In November 2015, the European association for rural development associations (AEIAR) published a report on the "Evolution of farm structures in Europe: policies, regulation and instruments".
AEIAR gathers public organisations working in the field of rural development to improve the quality of life in rural areas through integrated rural development policies. It includes SAFER in France, VLM in Belgium, ICAM in Spain, or ISMEA in Italy.
AEIAR members decided to write this report as a result of the changing context of European food and farmland: obsolescence of existing regulatory instruments, increased competition for land access, and decreasing European food sovereignty.
This report takes stock of and analyses existing policies and instruments in 7 countries: Germany, Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania and Poland. It reviews current measures aimed at regulating the land market (for sale or rent) as well as regulating access to land lease and to shares in companies owning farmland. It identifies their impact as well as their limits, in particular in the face of the development of farm companies which mostly fall outside of existing land regulations.
It strongly advocates for the renewal of farmland policies and market regulations, so as to recognise farmland as a limited and non-renewable resource and preserve it accordingly.
The report is available in English and French. It will soon be available in English and in German, from: http://www.aeiar.eu/new-report-aeiar-goes-around-the-land-market-regulation-in-europe/
AEIAR_Politique et instruments fonciers_2015
AEIAR_Land market policies and instruments_2015
