cultivar_22_Final_EN

Agroforestry systems in mainland Portugal 69 dominantly to smaller holdings than the national average. Second, an increase in the future resilience of agri- food chains which, in addition to the negative impacts of the pandemic, will be more penalised by a process of total internal convergence (milk, rice and tomatoes), as well as greater self-sufficiency in those products highly dependent on imports (cereals). Therefore, it will be necessary in our opinion both to boost production-coupled support for some sectors which already benefit from it today (rice, tomatoes, suckler cows, sheep and goats) and introduce cou- pled payments for autumn/winter cereals and grain maize and fodder. This will result in an additional cost that could be covered by either a transfer of funds from Pillar 2 to Pillar 1 or the elimination of grants for suckler cows whose loss of income should be fully offset by suitable eco-scheme payments. Third, the adoption of a con- sistent and effective set of eco-scheme payments and MAAs that in the context of the new conditionalities con- tribute to fighting climate change, improving the effi- cient use of soil and water resources, and promoting the landscape and biodiversity. In the case of agroforestry systems, it will be neces- sary (with possible adjustments to eligibility criteria and support rates) to keep many of the current MAAs (extensive grazing, native breeds, agroforestry man- agement, riparian galleries, etc.). The new eco-schemes may, however, come to be the most effective way to support the environmental and climatic functions expected to be performed by agroforestry systems in the next decade. For that purpose, it will be essential to introduce an eco-scheme payment aimed at the future expansion of both natural grassland and biodiverse seeded pastures rich in leguminous plants that contribute significantly and in a sustained manner to increase the organic matter content of the respective soils and consequently: • improve their fertility; • increase their capacity to retain water; • increase their capacity to sequester CO 2 . It could be argued that the payments in questionmay be incorporated into the MAAs, since the rule here is multiannual commitments. However, as top-up pay- ments are not possible, the incentivising effect that we consider decisive for significant spread of this type of support will be lost, which, in our opinion, will jeopardise the possibil- ity of achieving the different specific environmental and climatic objectives and, in particular, carbon neutrality. Of the different scenarios for the post-2020 CAP produced by AGRO.GES, it can be con- cluded that the application of a flat rate , without further alterations to the other types of intervention, will be highly prejudicial to the finances of holdings focused on bovine (milk) and intensive bovine (meat) produc- tion but will be highly beneficial for the other agro- forestry systems analysed. Introducing the proposed changes to production-coupled payments and eco- scheme payments will allow a partial recovery of the losses at stake for bovine (milk) farming but not for the other type of farming. Finally, it should be stressed that whichever scenario is considered, it is likely that the financial results of the agroforestry systems analysed as a whole will benefit from improvements in the respective Pillar 1 DPFs with increases of between 12% and 23% by 2027. … it should be stressed that whichever scenario is considered, it is likely that the financial results of the agroforestry systems analysed as a whole will benefit from improvements in the respective Pillar 1 DPFs with increases of between 12% and 23% by 2027.