Description

Grant towards expenses incurred by natural or legal persons exchanging owned or tenanted agricultural land. Voluntary land exchange can be a quicker and cheaper way of improving the agricultural structure than the process of land reparcelling. Land exchanges can also take place for nature conservation or landscape management purposes.
Additional grants for preparatory work can be made if additional information is required for implementing the land exchange, e.g. if the exchange is suggested by a third party such as the municipality. Land exchanges can also take place for nature conservation or landscape management purposes.

Requirements

• A properly functioning country-wide administration and monitoring system with access to the relevant information and sufficient technical and human capacities for its design, implementation and monitoring
• Clear and coherent political strategy and targets for policy-makers and public authorities
• Clear responsibilities in public authorities
• Close cooperation and knowledge sharing with farmers' organisations
• Consensus between the contracting parties recorded in an "exchange plan"
• Inventory of available land, including data on it's quality
• Property / land register / formal land rights
• Jurisdiction or arbitration body with locally recognised authorities
• Participation of all stakeholders involved, e. g. science / research, agricultural advisory services, civil society, public and private sector (incl. farmers and their interest groups)
• Regulatory framework
• Respect for cultural landscape and traditions

Possible Negative Effects

• Social tensions as a consequence of land exchanges seen retrospectively as unfair