European farming is a solution, not a problem

European farmers do a great job producing quality food and following the highest standards in the world. However, as the demands grow and the competition gets tougher; farming becomes more challenging.

The EPP Group listens to farmers and seeks solutions that protect our food production. Our vision is simple: We want to support and develop our farming so it is resilient in the face of challenges.

Since 2005, the EU has lost around a third of its farms. The share of people employed in agriculture fell from 6.4% of total EU employment in 2005 to 4.2% in 2020.

Farmers are growing older. In 2020, only one in every ten farmers was under 40 years of age. We urgently need young people to enter the sector to secure our food production. In practice, this means addressing the challenges of access to land and finance, promoting advisory services, education and training, and ensuring coherence between local, national and EU measures for young farmers.

If our competitors do not follow the same rules as we do, competitive globalised markets become tough and unfair playing fields. The EPP Group wants to level the playing field by demanding that any country exporting to the EU has to follow the same rules on animal welfare, pesticide use or any other criteria that we set for our own farmers. This is not only fair for us but also good for the global environment.

In the future CAP, we will continue to improve price stability instruments. We also want to strengthen the market position of farmers. The adoption of the first-ever directive to tackle unfair trading practices in the food supply chain was an EPP Group success, and we will make sure that it works for all European food producers.

Investment in and access to cutting-edge technology is essential to keep European agriculture competitive on the global market, maintain our high standards and ensure sustainable production methods in line with society's expectations. Through research and innovation, we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve better results in many other areas.

By using new technologies, we can reduce our environmental impact without reducing agricultural production. Embracing precision agriculture and eco-friendly innovations will boost productivity and minimise the environmental footprint. We call for much better and faster approval procedures for new techniques and alternatives. We need more investment in technology and infrastructure, energy management systems and accessible, reliable and fast internet in rural areas.

We believe that science-based decision-making that allows the use of new technologies offers far better ways of achieving a more sustainable agricultural sector than purely 'ideological' approaches that turn back the clock. For example, allowing the use of New Breeding Techniques (NBTs) in the EU will not only enable farmers to produce crops that require fewer inputs, such as water, fertiliser and pesticides, but it will also lead to investment in research and development and jobs across Europe.

We cannot expect farmers to do more with less support. We know that the market often does not reward the higher production costs arising from new investments and more sustainable practices. Ultimately, we want to facilitate a new consensus in society. We want consumers to really get behind, support more sustainably produced food, and reflect this in their choices in their local grocery stores.

Herbert Dorfmann, MEP

EPP group spokesman in the Committee of Agriculture and Rural Development