Ecological focus areas (EFA) identified in order to safeguard and improve biodiversity on farms

The identification of ecological focus areas is provided for in the Community regulations that supplement and complete the rules for the management of so-called “greening” within the LPIS system of each Member State. These are areas that directly affect biodiversity, such as land left behind, landscape features, terraces, buffer strips, afforested areas and agroforestry areas, or in areas that indirectly affect biodiversity through reduced use of farm inputs, such as areas covered by catch crops and vegetable cover in the winter season. In accordance with Article 70 (2) of Regulation (EU) 1306/2013, Member States shall ensure that the Agricultural Parcel Identification System (LIP) contains a reference level (Layer-EFA) to accommodate ecological focus areas (EFA). The purpose of this so-called Layer-EFA is to support farmers in their annual application in order to correctly declare the area, location and type of individual EFAs. In particular, where arable land on a holding covers more than 15 hectares, the farmer shall ensure that an area corresponding to at least 5 % of the arable land on the holding declared by the farmer is ecological focus areas. In addition, the information from the Layer-EFA represents the control and administrative reference base for the BPS (Basic Payment Scheme) cross-checks, between the ecological focus areas declared individually by a producer and the potential ecological focus areas available. The EFAs also include landscape elements (EPs) already recognised by the cross-compliance regime (terraces, hedges, isolated trees, rowing trees, dry stone walls). Update 2019