Response to CAP 2028-34: A guide for reflection and debate 77 Should they be annual, multi-annual or take the form of an action plan? Ideally, they should be long-term action plans. But if that is not possible, then such measures should at least have the same duration as the programming cycle. Otherwise, we are not giving farmers a stable framework within which to plan their activities. How shoultdhey be linked to support for the territory? Some of the measures will be cross-cutting across territories, such as support for organic farming or integrated production. Others will have to be justified on the basis of existing ecosystems and their environmental value. Support for agricultural, forestry andagro-industrial investment Is it still effective or does it distort the market? It is essential for accelerating the process of innovation and improving competitiveness. How do you viewthe diversificationof supportthroughfees and financialinstrumentsor investment vouchers for differenttypes of beneficiaries and regions? It depends on the situation. If we are talking about large agro-industrial investments, for example, repayable support would be more justified than non-repayable grants. Or, for example, if we have a programme for restructuring and resizing cooperatives, a mix of instruments is justified: non-repayable grants; loans; quasi-capital instruments; training, etc. How can this supportbe reconciledwith the transitionto the externalisation of fixed capital (storage, transport, equipment, digitisation, etc.)? Where the scale justifies it, such support should be granted to the companies making the investments. In the case of diversification of agricultural activity, what is the role of the LEADER programme? LEADER should be essentially geared towards this. Examples of investments to be financed on farms: tasting rooms or wine shops in wineries to welcome wine tourists; small cheese dairies, delicatessens or bakeries or confectioneries; transport and signage for operation on tourist routes; etc. Investment in infrastructure What are the priority needs and how can they be financed, ensuring their long-term continuity? It depends on what we are talking about. But whether collective or private, they need support. If they are rural roads, for example, they should be financed by the municipalities. If they are collective or individual irrigation systems, it should be the CAP. Organisation of production and knowledge What kind of CAP instruments can stimulate the concentration of supply in POs to increase the degree of organisation? I believe that, before considering POs, we should think about an integrated policy for the economic organisation of production based on the reality we have in the territory. In territories with some degree of production specialisation, we should certainly support the creation and operation of POs. In these territories, we should also create a programme that encourages the restructuring and resizing of cooperatives, facilitating and simplifying their alignment with POs. In territories with diversified mixed farming, we should take full advantage of multi-product POs, also putting in place instruments to support the concentration or cooperation of current cooperatives for the purchase and sale of production factors, which should thus evolve towards the marketing of products. In this context, we should also organise a national programme to support short marketing channels, in which this vast network of cooperatives would constitute the central structure.
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