The European Commission is to set up a new expert group to provide policy advice on access to farmland.

The Expert Group on Farmland (EGoF) is being set up to provide advice and expertise to the commission when preparing policy initiatives in the field of access to land and farmland regulations.

According to the commission, the group will also serve as a platform for cross-sector dialogue so that member states, land agencies and key stakeholders can collaborate and exchange knowledge on best practices, regulatory challenges, and innovative solutions.

The group can also contribute to fostering consensus-building and advising on policy frameworks that not only address current issues but also anticipate future challenges, the commission said.

The commission has identified three "tasks" for this expert group to carry out, which are:

Providing the commission with advice, expertise and input with a view to preparing policy initiatives in the field of access to land and farmland;
Providing the commission with advice, expertise and insights into studies and projects related to farmland and facilitate discussions on their outcomes, including the pilot projects for the EU Observatory on Farmland;
Facilitating the exchange of experiences and good practices in the area of access to farmland.

The third of these tasks will involve input on land mobility services; alternative ownership and business transfer models; land banks and reused abandoned land, involvement of state-owned financial institutions to enhance farmland access; and strategies to reduce land transaction costs for small farms.

This expert group is being seen as a precursor to the EU Observatory on Farmland, which was one of the recommendations in last year's Vision for Agriculture and Food in the EU.

The EU's Strategy for Generational Renewal in Agriculture, which also came out last year, added to the calls to address access to farmland.

Once the farmland observatory is set up, the expert group will become one of its "pillars".

The group will be composed of up to 45 members, which will either be member state authorities responsible for national farmland regulations, or organisations headquartered in the EU - that are not subject to financial control by authorities or entities outside the EU - that has "proven expertise" in the area.

The group will be chaired by a representative of the directorate-general for agriculture, one of the departments of the European Commission.