(BRUSSELS) - EU governments have agreed in principle to do away with a rule requiring farmers to keep land fallow as they struggle to keep up with demand, the European Commission said on Tuesday.

The rule has already been suspended for this year and the commission had proposed to abolish it entirely because of tight cereals supplies, which have driven prices to record highs.

"The end of the set-aside scheme will allow farmers to adjust their planting decisions and respond in advance to new market circumstances," the commission said in a statement.

The rule was introduced in the 1992 in order to get farmers to rein in production, which at the time was far outstripping demand, leading to huge surpluses.

Since the 1999-2000 season, the amount of land farmers had to keep fallow has been set at 10 percent.

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