SHOWCASE published its second practice abstract on the EU CAP Network, aiming to facilitate knowledge transfer from practice-oriented projects to farmers, advisors and other actors who might benefit from their results.

The second practice abstract, authored by partners The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, ZALF and WWF, provides an overview of regulatory and incentive instruments that encourage biodiversity-friendly farming in Europe. While EU nature directives and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) set a regulatory baseline, their full potential for biodiversity support remains untapped. The future CAP introduces eco-schemes, with 20 of 45 proposed practices explicitly targeting biodiversity. Various incentive programs, mainly Payments for Environmental Services, aim to extensify intensive farming, preserve extensive agroecosystems and restore agricultural habitats. Both public and private initiatives, including result-based approaches, play a role, with adoption influenced by farm characteristics, farmer motivations and broader societal factors.

Read the full abstract here.

Photo: SHOWCASE on the EIP-AGRI platform (EU CAP Network).