What the EU does
The EU enjoys the healthiest and highest-quality food in the world, and that is thanks to our farms and the wider agri-food sector. To maintain this, the European Commission works to ensure sustainable, competitive, resilient EU agriculture and lively rural areas.
The EU’s main agriculture policy objectives are to
- ensure farmers get a better revenue from the market to produce sufficient quantities of safe food, respecting EU rules on sustainability, animal welfare, traceability, etc.
- provide farm businesses with support systems to help stabilise their incomes in the face of less predictable production conditions
- make farming attractive to encourage young people to join
- facilitate investment in an innovative, competitive, sustainable farming sector
- maintain viable rural communities, with diverse economies
- create and maintaining jobs throughout the food chain

Key figures
Source: CAP Strategic Plans 2023-2027
Areas of action
How the EU supports its farmers and Europe’s food security.
EU farmers are the backbone of Europe’s food self-sufficiency: how the EU is responding to their concerns.
EU producers are selling their farm products in an increasingly competitive global marketplace: what the EU is doing to help.
The EU’s vision for the future of EU's farming and food systems.
Read more about EU policy, rules, certifications, and support for this sector.
What the Common Agricultural Policy has done to meet EU farmers’ needs and support rural areas.
How the EU can help you develop your farm.
How the EU protects and promotes the origins, traditions and unique characteristics of distinctive EU products.
Rural areas are the fabric of our society: what the EU’s long-term vision does to protect them.
Key achievements
- The common agricultural policy supports the EU’s food and farm sector, one of the major sectors of the economy, which provides some 8.7 million jobs in agriculture, with 17 million people working in the sector.
- There are around 3 400 recognised producer organisations, which help smaller farms increase their market power, in the EU. Half of these are operating in the fruit and vegetable production sector.
- The EU is working to support 6 million beneficiaries across the EU to provide high-quality food to 450 million Europeans.
- The total CAP budget for the 2023-27 period is €307 billion (€264 billion of EU funds and €43 billion of national funds).
In focus
Farmers are today facing challenges such as rising costs, climate change, and supply chain disruptions. To help them overcome these challenges, the Commission has set out its plans to build a fair and competitive food system that provides affordable and sustainable food for everyone. Its vision for the future of farming and food production in the EU is based on four key areas of action: the work envisioned will make the agriculture sector more attractive, competitive, and future-proof, and will value food and people. The EU will be working closely with farmers, food producers, rural communities, and civil society to make this vision a reality.
