A total of 563,095 farmers and ranchers have submitted the single application for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) aid for the 2026 campaign, marking the fourth edition of Spain’s CAP Strategic Plan (PEPAC) 2023-2027. Of the applicants, 82% have chosen to adopt some eco-scheme, which once again reflects the good reception of this environmental initiative.
The declared area stands at 22.03 million hectares, a figure similar to that of the previous year, which reached 22.07 million hectares. The total amount of direct aid for this campaign amounts to 4.897 billion euros, and it is expected that most payments will be made before June 30, 2027. However, the number of applicants has decreased by 3.3% compared to the previous year, indicating a trend towards fewer farms, albeit larger in size, suggesting a growing professionalization in the sector.
The single application is a procedure that unifies the applications for direct CAP aid and rural development interventions based on area or livestock. Most applications include direct aid under the PEPAC 2023-2027, such as the basic income support for sustainability and eco-schemes. This latter category, which has been introduced to promote agricultural practices beneficial to the environment, has demonstrated its consolidation, covering 19.2 million hectares, which represents 88% of the declared area for basic income support.