What Do Farmer Collectives Need to Enhance Biodiversity, Water Quality and Climate Action in Rural Areas?

The EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has recently broadened the scope of public services that collaborating groups of farmers (farmer collectives) can provide. In addition to biodiversity measures via agri-environment schemes (AES), they can apply for the implementation of water quality and climate mitigation measures. But what does this require from farmer collectives and from the public administrations that contract them? We address these questions based on previous and additional research on the farmer collectives in the Netherlands. To this purpose, we looked at the strategies of farmer collectives. The focus was on: what is the scope of services to be deployed to create public value; how is legitimacy and support ensured; and what does this imply for the organisation of the farmer collective, the qualifications of people involved in the farmer collective and managing external networks? We identify three types of farmer collectives with distinct needs, critical points of attention, and different roles for public administrations: 1) farmer collectives that only implement AES; 2) farmer collectives that also implement public and private funded projects; 3) farmer collectives that act as risk-taking, entrepreneurial organisations. In other Member States, additional types of farmer collectives may emerge. Recognising the heterogenity of farmer collectives, by Member State and by farmer collective, is key to effective and legitimate biodiversity, water quality and climate action.