The Czech Republic has asked the European Commission to reduce the number of checks on farmers. With the introduction of satellite land monitoring, inspections were expected to decrease, but last year, on the contrary, their number doubled, which according to Agriculture Minister Marek Wybourne is unacceptable. 17 member states have signed up to the Czech plan, which will be discussed at a meeting of federal agriculture ministers in Brussels.
This is a Europe-wide problem, Výborný said. Reimbursing direct area payments to states requires restrictions on what a farmer has planted in a given area. And due to increased administration, some payments are delayed.
However, according to Výborný, the authorities cannot act otherwise now, because a possible trial by European auditors will determine how many tests they should have carried out. The Czech minister says that the tools of precision agriculture are well available today, reminding that satellite imaging is frequent, regular and of good resolution.
“This is unfortunately a very absurd and inexplicable situation for the farming public,” Výborný said. “Last year, we introduced satellite soil monitoring across Europe precisely to make farmers' lives easier and reduce the number of checks. Unfortunately, the situation was the opposite in the second half of last year, with the number of checks doubling across Europe, which is “unacceptable” to him,” he added.
According to him, the European Union has switched to satellite monitoring of soil blocks, that is, where it is sown, whether it is actually wheat, corn, rapeseed or the like. As a result, physical examinations were not continued. “However, the situation is now the other way around, and we started checking whether the satellite is misreading it,” Výborný said. Specifically, there were about 5,300 checks in 2022, compared to 9,700 already last year.
The Czech Republic is now asking the European Commission to adjust its procedures and ease restrictions. “I hope that the situation will improve in a few weeks. The goal is simple, it should be before the farmers go to the fields in Europe. Otherwise, it will cause really big problems,” Výborný added.
