FUTURE C.A.P SHOULD EMPOWER POTATO GROWERS AND ENSURE AN AGRO-ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION, SAY CHAMPIONS OF ORGANIC
WITH the European Organic Congress taking place from today until Thursday, one piece of EU policy that could make or break the transition to organic growing is the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), with rewards for potato and other crop growers being a key element of this.
The congress starts today with an inaugural speech from Dr. István Nagy, Hungarian Minister for Agriculture. Other speakers will include Herbert Dorfmann, Member of the European Parliament and AGRI committee coordinator; Stefan Krajewski, Secretary of State at the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and representatives from the EU institutions and farming organisations, and representatives of the European and global organic movement.
Those involved in the organic movement believe that, in order to be fit for the future, a CAP needs an ambitious reform to enable an agroecological transition of Europe’s agriculture, while adhering to the following three actions:
Supporting all farmers who want to transform their farms sustainably using a whole-farm approach.
Adequately rewarding farmers engaged in sustainability systems, such as organic farmers, for the benefits they already deliver to the environment and society.
Ensuring the sector’s competitiveness.
IFOAM Organics, the European umbrella organisation for organic food and farming, has said that while the agrifood sector is facing multiple challenges, the CAP must undergo an ambitious reform to stay relevant and deliver environmental and socio-economic sustainability.
President Jan Plagge said the CAP post-2027 should support both growers who want to be more environmentally ambitious as well as those who already are.
He said: “It is important to encourage those ready to re-design their farms to be more sustainable and set high environmental ambitions. Moreover, the future CAP should also adequately reward growers already working with nature and provide benefits for ecosystems functions. This needs to be based on a whole-farm approach. As our vision for the CAP post-2027 is in line with the Strategic Dialogue on the future of agriculture’s recommendations, we count on the Commission, Council and Parliament to implement this broad agreement among agriculture and environmental stakeholders that it is time for a fundamental CAP reform.”
Thomas Fertl, IFOAM Organics Europe Board Member and farming sector representative elaborated on the approach: “We propose a three-stage approach to ensure proportionality between a farm’s level of environmental ambition and the funding it receives, based on key areas: Soil protection, impact on water, climate, and biodiversity. This would allow for high environmental ambitions, a coherent approach at farm level, while easing administration for farmers and national authorities. Our vision makes two objectives meet: Rewarding farmers who are already engaged in sustainable production methods and supporting other farmers in a gradual transition to agroecology.”
The CAP should also play an important role in market regulation to strengthen growers’ roles in the agrifood supply chain, increase their resilience to economic crises and ensure a decent income, he said, adding that targeted measures should support growers based on socio-economic criteria.
