Brussels, 04/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - The draft report by Daciana Octavia Sârbu on food security was very much to the liking of the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA), which welcomes the attention paid to young farmers and the problem of an ageing rural population.
“If Europe is to guarantee food security, then the new common agricultural policy (CAP) must ensure there will still be farmers in the years to come by prioritising new entrants in both pillars of the reformed policy” (Ed: direct subsidies and market spending, on one hand, and rural development, on the other), commented Joris Baecke, CEJA President. Currently support measures for young farmers remain in Pillar II of the CAP under rural development.
According to the draft report by Daciana Octavia Sârbu, which was presented to the EP agriculture committee on 27 October, it is important to underline the role to be played by young farmers in the future CAP. The rapporteur points out that only 7% of European farmers are younger than 40 and that at least 4.5 million farmers will be taking their retirement in the next 10 years. The draft report recommends “measures such as installation premiums, subsidised interest rates on loans and other incentives which have been implemented by member states through their rural development budgets”. Also, the rapporteur reaffirms the substance of its budget amendment on the exchange programme for young people and wishes to see this implemented as a pilot project.
The CEJA welcomes the request made in the draft report to find measures to reduce the EU's dependency on imports of protein and oilseed products from third countries. In this context, the CEJA recommends developing the production of bio-energy and setting in place a protein plan for Europe.
Furthermore, the draft report by Daciana Octavia Sârbu calls for - a strong policy on agriculture and rural development that ensures “food security for all, maintains the vitality of rural Europe, is supportive of innovation, competitiveness and employment, and plays its part in meeting major global challenges, such as climate change”; - more measures to promote the employment of women in farms and rural areas and gender equality in ownership rights, access to pensions and direct payment; - and the setting in place of a global system to ensure food security when price spikes occur, warding off recurring protectionism and easing the pressure on world food markets.
The report by Daciana Octavia Sârbu will be modified as it has still to be adopted by the EP agriculture committee and during the European Parliament plenary. (L.C./transl.jl)