Brussels – A tiny fraction of rich landowners and industrial farmers siphon off the lion’s share of the EU’s subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), with a wealthy 1% of recipients taking as much as 40% of the money paid out in some countries, according to CAP payments data gathered by Greenpeace.
As farmers prepare to take to the streets of Strasbourg on 20 January to demand better and fairer distribution of CAP subsidies, a new briefing by the Greenpeace European Unit finds that some of the richest people in Europe receive large chunks of taxpayer contributions in six EU countries: Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.
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The Netherlands has the most extreme concentration of the countries analysed, with the top 1% of recipients receiving 40% of CAP subsidies. Across all six countries, the top 10% receive on average two-thirds of subsidies, while the top 20% receive approximately four-fifths.
| Share of farming subsidies in 2024 (in %) | Top 1% of beneficiaries | Top 10% of beneficiaries | Top 20% of beneficiaries |
| Czechia | 23% | 69% | 83% |
| Denmark | 18% | 61% | 79% |
| Germany | 24% | 59% | 74% |
| Italy | 31% | 69% | 82% |
| Netherlands | 40% | 59% | 71% |
| Spain | 28% | 62% | 79% |
Marco Contiero, Greenpeace EU agricultural policy director, said: “Because of the distortion in the CAP, subsidies go to the rich and not enough support reaches those who really need it: farmers on the brink of bankruptcy, small agroecological farms, and all those who want to transition to more sustainable practices. There is no societal value in fuelling inequality, destroying nature and undermining the long-term viability of food production itself. The next CAP urgently needs reforms that serve the public good, instead of simply lining the pockets of wealthy landowners.”
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Czech Prime Minister-designate Andrej Babiš’ AGROFERT Group, Italy’s largest landowner, Bonifiche Ferraresi, and the Moltke family in Denmark are among the largest individual recipients of public funds.
The money paid just to Babiš’ AGROFERT Group (€16.6 million in 2024), could be better spent by, for example, supporting up to 7,703 small farms to use water more efficiently (based on average costs derived from published evidence and compiled by the Institute for European Environmental Policy).
The CAP accounts for roughly a third of the EU’s budget. In recent years, the concentration of subsidies has fuelled a disturbing trend of small farms disappearing in Europe, with two million commercial small-scale farms (44%) either going big or going bust. Industrialisation and consolidation of the sector has led to fewer and fewer mega-farms.
Negotiations
EU governments, the European Commission and the European Parliament are now negotiating over the next EU budget, which includes the flagship farm subsidies system. Greenpeace is calling for the new CAP to phase out hectare-based direct payments, prioritise income support for farms with the highest ecological and social value, apply degressive scales and maximum limits to CAP subsidies, and – by the end of the current CAP programing period – earmark at least 50% of the CAP budget for environmental and climate action.
Greenpeace’s recommendations are in line with the conclusions of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Agriculture, a platform created by the European Commission that brought together farmers’ unions, representatives of the European agri-food sector, civil society, rural communities and academics to reach a common vision for the future of the EU’s farming and food systems.
Notes for editors:
This analysis was conducted by data analysts Kaas & Mulvad. The data on beneficiaries in 2024 has been sourced from the countries’ respective national databases on EU agricultural support.
The information on subsidies is based on the EU financial year 2024, which runs from 16 October 2023 to 15 October 2024. Unless otherwise specified in the report, this analysis covers the total amount of CAP subsidies, comprising both EU agricultural subsidies and national agricultural co-financing across all six countries for the financial year 2024.
Marco Contiero was a participant in the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Agriculture and is a member of the European Board on Agriculture and Food.
Contacts:
Marco Contiero, Greenpeace EU agriculture policy director: +32 477 77 70 34, [email protected]
Greenpeace EU press desk: +32 (0)2 274 1911, [email protected]
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Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote peace. We do not accept donations from governments, the EU, businesses or political parties. Greenpeace has over three million supporters, and 26 independent national and regional organisations with offices in more than 55 countries.
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