EU Commission Unveils Strategy for a Resilient and Sustainable Agri-Food Sector

INA-  SOURCES

Today, the European Commission unveiled its Vision for Agriculture and Food, outlining a roadmap aimed at creating an attractive, competitive, resilient, and sustainable agri-food system for future generations. This plan is set to address challenges facing the sector while ensuring food security, climate action, and the well-being of rural communities. It emphasizes the importance of simplifying policies and promoting innovation and digitalization across the agricultural landscape. A key aspect of the plan is the introduction of a comprehensive simplification package for agricultural legislation, set to be proposed in 2025, alongside an EU digital strategy to transition agriculture to more tech-friendly practices.
Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, highlighted the central role of farmers in the EU’s food production, acknowledging their hard work and dedication despite the increasing pressures from global competition and climate change. The strategy seeks to offer farmers more stability, financial support, and the ability to adopt innovative practices, such as carbon and nature credits, to secure supplementary income streams. Furthermore, the Commission plans to take action to prevent farmers from being forced to sell their products below production costs, including a review of the Unfair Trading Practices Directive.
The Vision outlines four main priorities. The first, making farming more attractive, focuses on ensuring fair incomes, targeted public support, and improved business models that support young people entering the profession. A Generational Renewal Strategy is set to be introduced in 2025, which will explore measures at both the EU and national levels to break down barriers for newcomers to the farming sector.
The second priority, competitiveness and resilience, includes ensuring the EU’s food sovereignty and security. This will be achieved through robust trade agreements and ensuring that imported products meet EU production standards. The Commission will also begin work in 2025 to assess the impact of aligning these standards with regulations regarding pesticides and animal welfare. This also includes reinforced efforts on food safety standards and a renewed focus on livestock for long-term sector sustainability.
As part of its future-proof strategy, the Commission aims to integrate climate goals with food production by incentivizing farmers to adopt sustainable practices. The introduction of a voluntary ‘on-farm sustainability compass’ is intended to help farmers measure and improve their environmental impact. The Commission also plans to create a Water Resilience Strategy to address efficient water use in farming.
In rural areas, the Commission is committed to enhancing living and working conditions through an updated Rural Action Plan. The plan aims to maintain the vibrancy and functionality of rural communities, connected to the EU’s cultural and natural heritage. A new annual Food Dialogue will be launched to engage a wide range of stakeholders to find solutions to issues such as food affordability, waste reduction, and animal welfare concerns.
Looking to the future, the Commission will ensure that the upcoming Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) proposal focuses on supporting active food producers, particularly young farmers and those in disadvantaged areas. This will be done by targeting support more effectively, based on the needs of farmers rather than imposing rigid conditions.
The Vision for Agriculture and Food was introduced as part of the first 100 days of the Commission’s mandate and was developed under the guidance of President von der Leyen, in consultation with the European Board for Agriculture and Food. It builds on input from the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture and responds to public sentiment, as indicated by recent Eurobarometer results, which show strong support among EU citizens for a stable and secure food supply within the EU.



SOURCE: novinite