Talamh Beo Post-2027 CAP Plan: Break reliance on fossil fuels and end subsidies for land hoarding 

Talamh Beo demands an EU policy overhaul to end chemical input dependency, protect working family farms, and fund a transition to resilient local food production.

November 5th – Talamh Beo, Ireland’s member-led organisation for agroecology and food sovereignty, has published its official policy proposal for the post-2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Responding directly to the European Commission’s draft framework (COM(2025) 560), Talamh Beo calls for a complete reorientation of EU agricultural policy to break farms’ reliance on high-cost chemical inputs and redirect subsidies away from passive land ownership toward active environmental restoration and quality food delivery.

The proposal offers solutions to the risks inherent in Ireland’s highly exposed, export-oriented agri-food sector through supporting a transition to Agroecology. Agroecology offers reduced dependence on imported feeds, fuels, fertilisers and other inputs which enrich agribusiness monopolies over farmers and communities. The proposal also aims to halt corporate land hoarding by reorienting subsidies towards social and environmental outcomes; rewarding active farming work and environmental measures rather than solely area based payments.

Key Media Highlights & Policy Demands

• Ending fossil fuel & chemical input dependency: Shift away from input-heavy, intensive farming systems toward agroecological practices that reduce artificial fertiliser and feed imports. Secure at least 40% of total CAP expenditure for agri-environmental spending, including for the mandatory provision of an organic farming scheme and a robust agroecological transition under Article 10. Extend permanent grassland protections across all agricultural land beyond Natura 2000 sites. 

• Fixing the land model to protect working farmers: Replace area-based payment formulas with support calculated on active farming work and public goods delivery. Redefine “Active Farmer” criteria to ensure eligibility for both full-time and part-time farmers with off-farm jobs, while strictly excluding corporate holding companies and non-farming land speculators.

• Mandatory payment caps to fund rural Ireland: Enforce a strict €60,000 ceiling on direct payments per farm, with progressive degressivity starting from €20,000. Reinvest these funds into a €5,000 minimum floor payment for small and High Nature Value (HNV) producers, alongside redistributive front-loading capped strictly at farms of 30 hectares or less. 

• Farmgate Price Controls & Market Stability: Reform the Common Market Organisation (CMO) and strengthen Unfair Trading Practices (UTP) rules to prohibit farmgate prices from dropping below actual costs of production, preventing processors and retailers from squeezing farmer margins.

• Generation Renewal & Land Access: Create a single “one-stop-shop” installation aid mechanism under the Young Farmers Starter Pack—offering setting-up grants up to €300,000 with dedicated top-ups for women, smallholders, and low-capital agroecological new entrants.
• Domestic Food Sovereignty & Local Systems: Make strengthening territorial food systems an explicit CAP priority and objective. Utilise strategic coupled income supports to rebuild domestic horticulture, fruit, and vegetable production, alongside establishing a pilot basic income for local food farmers supplying regional food hubs and school meal programs.

“Ireland’s hyper-exposure to volatile global markets for fossil fuels, synthetic fertilisers, and imported feeds leaves our working farmers completely at the mercy of external crises. The post-2027 CAP must drive a genuine agroecological transition—replacing a high-cost, input-dependent model with low-cost, resilient farming that works with nature, restores our soils, and guarantees real Food Sovereignty. By stopping millions in public payments to corporate landholders, we can fund active farmers—both full-time and part-time—to deliver clean food and climate resilience for our communities.”

The full policy proposal, including itemised legal amendments to EU articles and recitals, is published and accessible via Talamh Beo’s website: 

ENDS