Brussels, 19/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 19 January, the European Parliament said that primary producers cannot fully benefit from the rise in production prices as they are wedged between, on one hand, the low farm prices due to the strong positions held by processors and retailers and, on the other, high input prices due to a high concentration of agricultural input companies. With the adoption of the report by José Bové (Greens/EFA) on the farm input supply chain, the EP recommends measures for releasing the grip (as the rapporteur puts it) of multinationals that sell the necessary supplies to farmers, such as energy, fertilisers and seed.
Bové states one cannot fail to notice that farmers are clearly caught between the “hammer and the anvil”. The sectors that group firms such as Monsanto for seed, Cargill for fertilisers, and Total for energy are particularly concentrated, opaque and insensitive to the concerns of citizens.
The EP trusts major EU investment will be made in energy saving projects, and puts forward several proposals: - improved agricultural practice, reduction of distance between producers and consumers (thanks to the setting in place of short marketing circuits and local in-season consumption), more autonomous energy production on farms, and rebalancing between animal and vegetable production at the level of coherent production basins, with the promotion of agronomic practice such as crop rotation and grass-growing.
The cost of fertilisers has doubled over the past ten years, while prices paid to farmers have only risen 25%. Some agronomic practices (such as crop rotation) make it possible to greatly reduce the use of such products and thus also greatly reduce the need for leaching (which pollutes groundwater). MEPs therefore call on the Commission to promote agronomic practices which reduce input costs and nutrient wastage. Furthermore, the EP welcomes the Commission's increased focus on Europe's bioeconomy, and calls for a substantial part of the next research framework programme to be earmarked for R&D in the efficient use and management of farm inputs management and improving agronomic efficiency.
The improvement of growing methods also entails a reduction in the use of pesticides and herbicides, by reducing the harm done by parasites and weeds. Waste and collected water also represent a potential source of fertilisation as long as adequate measures are taken to ensure effective separation of potentially dangerous substances, the rapporteur states.
Measures requested by the EP include: - investments in precision farming in an optional EU-wide list of “greening” measures to be rewarded within the CAP, as these innovative practices (such as GPS-based soil monitoring) have similar positive effects on climate change mitigation, soil and water quality and farmers' finances (with significantly reduced use of fertilisers, water, soil improvers, plant protection products and pesticides, which will reduce input costs for farmers); - and the introduction in the new CAP of suitable measures and instruments to support those farmers cultivating protein crops, thereby potentially reducing the EU's crop protein deficit and price volatility while also improving agricultural practices and soil fertility. The EP also calls on the Commission to consider setting up a European bank for seeds in order to store and preserve the genetic variety of plants, combat biodiversity loss, and link crop diversity to the cultural heritage of the member states.
Farm seed. The average 30% rise in the price of seed since 2000 also affects farmers' income. According to Bové, this rise is due to the constantly increasing rise in the price of certified seeds, sold by an increasingly small number of large international companies. However, it is also linked to measures taken by a number of member states to restrict the use of farm seeds, which cost 40% less, and which are produced and used by the farmers themselves. The EP therefore calls on the Commission and member states, in the context of the forthcoming revision of Regulation (EC) No2100/94 on Community plant variety rights, to “maintain the possibility for farmers to use farm-produced and farm-processed seed”. (LC/transl.jl)