It is difficult to rent land for potatoes in Flanders for the coming season. One of the main reasons for this is a change in the rules regarding payment entitlements. As a condition for the basic payment for the greening premium, it has been included for 2022 that the applicant must be responsible for the main crop during the season.
Until 2021, in Flanders, the basic payment and the greening accrued to the user who is in possession of the payment rights and had access to the eligible plots on the deadline of April 30. This has been adjusted from 2022 and the applicant must also be responsible for the main cultivation. This means that the plot can no longer be transferred to another farmer at the beginning of the season.
The farmer who carries out the main crop is expected to be responsible for sowing or planting and for cultivation operations during the growing season, such as carrying out crop protection. The crop can only be sold on stem shortly before harvest. The plot/crop sheet (crop registration) is the responsibility of the grower of the main crop and any invoices for cultivation operations must also be in the name of the farmer who has the main crop.
Cultivation operations carried out by the buyer of the standing crop are not permitted, even if they are invoiced to the seller. A commonly used construction to rent out potato land is therefore no longer possible. The Flemish Department of Agriculture & Fisheries warns to check compliance and to penalize farmers who wrongly declare or fail to declare a plot. This not only has consequences for payment rights, but possibly also for fertilization rights.
Greening requirements
If the potential tenant of the plot does reach an agreement with the landlord, he will be responsible for the main cultivation in the new situation. This raises the next problem. He is therefore responsible for the greening requirements. In concrete terms, this means that it must meet the requirements for so-called crop diversification, the ecological focus area and the maintenance of permanent grassland. These are comparable to the Netherlands. For the larger companies that mainly focus on potato cultivation and rent the vast area for this purpose, it is almost impossible to meet the first two requirements.
The changes in Flemish policy mean that many farmers who have rented out land for potatoes in recent years are very cautious before 2022 or would rather not rent out at all. With the relatively good grain price, some have already decided to sow more winter wheat. Growers who are dependent on rented land fear that if the current rules remain in place, landlords will opt (for the area that does not have wheat) for relatively easy crops such as corn or summer grain instead of potatoes.