The present and future of European agriculture from the organised civil society perspective

While deploring all acts of violence, the European Economic and Social Committee's (EESC) NAT Section, which deals with agriculture, rural development and the environment, expresses solidarity with and support for farmers, who have seen their incomes reduced and livelihoods undermined following decades where farmers' views have not been taken into consideration, where decision-making processes (at EU level and in trade agreements negotiations) have not involved them and where the budget made available has not been aligned with sustainability objectives.

The EESC has for years been calling for a comprehensive food policy ensuring fair prices for producers, fostering a fair food supply chain, supporting farmers in the move towards climate neutrality objectives and securing more balanced and sustainable rural/urban development. The unfair value distribution across the food supply chain leads to imbalances and uncertainties, which prevents farmers from getting a fair income for their food production (farmers' income is around 40% lower than the average non-agricultural income). At the same time, farmers should not be overwhelmed by administrative burdens and should be given sufficient time to adapt to measures such as extremely complex eco-schemes.

The response must not be nationalism, as this always fosters conflict. On the contrary, we need more solidarity and 'more Europe'. The response must not be to exclude any group of the society but to bring farmers and agri-food chain players to the centre of discussions on how to move towards autonomous and sustainable food production. The farmers' community needs solutions to accompany the transition, as well as to ensure reciprocity of standards on the global market.

The EESC adopted an opinion at its January plenary entitled Promoting autonomous and sustainable food production: strategies for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post-2027, It was the first institution to provide recommendations for the next CAP. This opinion, developed with farmers' representatives, highlights the fact that environmental and climate policies must be designed in such a way as to help Europe recover from the current crisis, providing long-term solutions and guidelines for decision-making in the future.

Cooperation among different players all along the food chain, e.g. cooperation between farmers and the food distribution sector, is essential to ensure that a fair price – that recognises the value of food – is paid to farmers.
 

At the EESC, we have the opportunity to co-create solutions with a variety of stakeholders, based on dialogue and compromise.