The EU’s agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan said greater use of satellite technology could help member states to “significantly increase” the efficiency of on-the-spot checks necessary for CAP payments.
Following a visit to the European Joint Research Centre (JRC), Commissioner Hogan said he had the opportunity to see the tremendous work being done by the JRC in terms of developing satellite technology and in using the provided data in the most efficient way.
“I am certain that there is great potential for further developments in both the technology and, equally importantly, the access to that technology,” said Mr. Hogan adding that “We already have satellite technology and the benefits are obvious. Greater use of it will reduce the dependence on labor and time-intensive on-the-spot checks.”
Besides better farm efficiency, the increased use of satellite technology offers a significant reduction of on-farm inspections, which will benefit not only farmers, but regional and national authorities as well.
“The greater investment in and use of this technology is a win-win situation for all stakeholders.” In this context, Commissioner Hogan also said that a significant progress could be made in the following three years, highlighting the importance of CAP to European economy and society.
A STEP TOWARDS TRANSPARENCY
As Europe is turning to satellite images and remote sensing applications to monitor farms on a vast scale, RECAP project has been recently launched with an aim to offer farmers a tool to support the efficiency and transparency of the compliance with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) monitoring procedure.
The core idea is to simplify the interpretation of complex regulations. Through a cloud-based platform, farmers will receive personalized information and early alerts on potential breaches.