New policy brief – Raising farm labour productivity in the EU: Lessons for the post-2027 CAP

This policy brief discusses how, in the context of post-2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the EU could support labour productivity growth using CAP instruments.

Key Messages

• Growth in agricultural labour productivity is slowing down across the EU, and it rests on people leaving farming. In the median EU country, national labour productivity growth fell from 2.0% a year in 2010–2019 to 0.8% in 2020–2024 as value added turned from growth to decline. Since 2020, the shrinking workforce has accounted for about 95% of EU labour productivity growth.
• The two instruments most clearly linked to higher value added are decoupled payments and advisory support. Knowledge-sharing and advisory support (AKIS) shows the largest association with productivity, though from a very small budget base. Decoupled payments (DABIS) show a smaller one that fades within five years. Coupled income support (CIS) and early retirement schemes go with slower value added growth at every horizon.
• Payments for natural constraints (ANC) go with more people staying in farming, but not with higher productivity. They should be judged on keeping land farmed, not on productivity indicators.