Cross Compliance and Nitrates directive in farming in Slovenia

Cross compliance represents a series of standards to be met by farmers for acquiring direct payments. In Slovenia, the implementation of cross compliance was initiated within the framework of the first pillar of the agriculture policy in the year 2005. By Slovenia’s accession to the EU, the nitrates directive, as one of the cross compliance standards, has become a regulation introducing measures and restrictions into the agricultural activity in the entire national territory. Therefore, Slovenia has implemented, through the Rural Development Programme for the Republic of Slovenia 2004-2006, the measure “Implementation Support for the EU standards on agricultural holdings” enabling the farmers to acquire financial resources, knowledge and information necessary for a faster and effective adjustment to the requirements of the obligatory standards. The number of farmers engaging to the measure in 2004 and 2005 was unexpectedly high, since over 25,000 agricultural holdings engaged to the implementation of the standards or the adjustment to the standards in the each given year. The total number of agricultural holdings participating in the measure in each or both given years was over 33,000. Alone for the implementation of the standards and the adjustment to the standards of the nitrates directive more than 29,000 agricultural holdings submitted application for acquiring support.