Topics

• Farmers and consumer protection

  With around 10 million farmers in the European Union and 22 million people working in the agri-food industry, farmers are at the heart of European´s rural communities providing a variety of affordable, safe and high-quality public goods. Protecting farmers, enhancing high quality standards of food production, plant health, animal welfare as well as the health, safety and economic interest of consumers, to make sustainability their trademark and to ensure the future of the food chain before players outside the EU do so.

• Farmers and nutrition: quality, quantity and diversity

  Farmers do play a key role in improving nutritional security and combating malnutrition in Europe. According to estimations, around 3 billion people living with low-quality diets. Moreover, due to climate change, growing and aging populations and rapid urbanization, our food systems will face increasing pressure, which will surge the prevalence of various forms of malnutrition. Despite the economic growth nutritional enhancements are not keeping pace. Sustainable agriculture and food value chains improve the nutritional status resulting in better productive workforce for the agri-food industry and beyond. However, we should rather focus on quality diets than only on caloric intake, which will lead to the need of a policy shift, which includes the private sector to provide high-quality diets. Through nutrition- sensitive agriculture interventions, helping to enhance the quality of diets and improving the health of future generations, SMEs and policymakers can contribute to deliver better nutrition results.

• Green sustainability and agriculture

  Together with the European Green Deal, the Biodiversity Strategy, aiming to protect and increase a plethora of animals and plants in the rural ecosystem, as well as the Farm to Fork Strategy, targeting to build a sustainable food system, all complete the CAP in regards to Green Sustainability, Biodiversity and Agriculture. Hence, impacting farmers, foresters, rural communities and agri-food businesses.
  By highlighting the importance of a multidisciplinary approach, our working group aims to support farmers and agri-food businesses to create a competitive and environmentally friendly, inclusive future for Europe.

• Financial support to young farmers

  According to the European Commission, only 11% of all farm holdings across the EU are run by farmers under the age of 40 years. However, young farmers represent a significant part of the future of the agricultural sector. Challenged with an ageing farming population, the European Union contributes to encourage young people into farming. Young farmers should be supported through start-up grants, income support and additional training etc. by national authorities to get their business started. This working group will highlight the importance of pro-active approaches to encourage agriculture as feasible career for younger farmers towards a more sustainable agricultural sector and facilitated access to finance.

• Farming 4.0 digitalisation

  Farming 4.0, also know as smart farming or e-agriculture, reached its milestone in digital agriculture in 2017 when the first fully mechanized crop was sown, tended and harvested without human assistance. It has shown that digital agriculture will allow customisable results and even spur innovation. pests and diseases. It will provide better recommendations of seed placements in fields. Thus, farming 4.0 might be the turning point, in particular when considering the existing scarcity of resources and small-scale farming. This working group is set to advocate for the digital transformation of the sector and for a legal framework that facilitates its adoption for SMEs.