Common criteria for the redefinition of Intermediate Less Favoured Areas in the European Union

This article defines eight key climate, soil and terrain criteria that have been developed for the future delimitation of the Intermediate Less Favoured Areas (LFAs) support, a measure of the Common Agricultural Policy. The LFA scheme has existed since 1975 and is a broad mechanism for improving the viability of agriculture in areas with natural handicaps. The common criteria have been developed for the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development to satisfy the objectives in the Rural Development Policy 2007–2013 (Axis II), which aim to improve the environment and the countryside by more sustainable land management. The criteria were developed by experts, coordinated by the European Commissions Joint Research Centre, to meet the requirement for a robust and harmonised approach of identifying areas that experience natural constraints to agriculture throughout the EU 27 Member States. The criteria proposed are: temperature, heat stress, drainage, soil texture and stoniness, soil rooting depth, soil chemical properties, soil moisture balance and slope. Each criterion is described and an indicative threshold for assessment of its impact on agriculture is provided. The criteria are currently being tested by the EU Member States for a future possible legislation.