The survey, to which only 5% of interviewees responded, was carried out jointly by the the Pfaffenthal Eco Centre and non-profit organisation Rural Youth and Young Farmers.
61 out of 72 respondents said they want to prepare for changing conditions as well as possible, by modernising their operations and participating in government programmes.
However, two thirds indicated that affected administrations tend to get in each others’ ways. For instance, while the Nature Administration might approve a project, the Agriculture Ministry can still block it, and vice versa.
To improve communication, sectorial representatives demand that one central point of contact be created.
Agricultural consultant Tom Van Bossche explains: “It cannot be that farmers receive different answers when going to the various administrations. They need a global place where they can ask questions and get answers to the various problems.”
The organisers of the survey further recommend that the government improve communication about the advantages of the different support programmes.
Luc Emering, president of the Rural Youth and Young Farmers, went a step further with the following suggestion: “We are compensated when we participate in a programme, but actually that is all done as a public service, so we should see how we can remunerate this in performance-related manner. If we can create a remuneration instead of a compensation system, then we would be much more successful in convincing farmers of programmes.”
To discuss all the feedback and proposals, sectorial representatives hope that a round table talk with the government can be organised in the near future.
