Evolution of Walloon agriculture towards an environment-friendly model

Since the 1980's, the Common Agricultural Policy proposes voluntary measures in favour of the environment. These measures are continuously reinforced since then, some of them became compulsory if the farmers want to get direct payments, through the so-called "cross-compliance" after the 2003 reform and "green payment" after the 2013 reform. At the same time, organic farming received a legal status and was more and more supported and successful, like specific quality products, including origin-labelled products and products friendly to the environment. This paper examines and discusses: 1) the evolution of organic farming in Wallonia (South of Belgium) which represented 10% of the agricultural area and 11% of the number of farmers in 2016; 2) the implementation of the greening of the CAP in Wallonia from 2015 to 2017, with the choice between the different possible ecological focus areas, showing the success of catch crops or green cover; and 3) the increasing number of products officially recognized as "specific quality products". This evolution proves that the environment is more and more taken into account in the agricultural practices, leading to less environmental risks and a more efficient use of natural resources.