Brussels, 15/04/2013 (Agence Europe) -At a seminar on EU relations with Africa in the agri-foods field in Brussels on 10 April, Dacian Ciolos, European Commissioner for Agriculture, declared that “the return of agriculture to priority status has to do be translated in the bilateral relations between the European Union and Africa in a concrete way, through a strategic partnership in the agricultural field. The EU-Africa summit in April 2014 is opening a window for working towards a common agenda” (see EUROPE 10825).
The commissioner said that “food chain actors are those most concerned and have the most skills for developing this”. Nonetheless, he explained, the EU could help African countries, “not only financially, but also by providing technical and political expertise, acquired through the Common Agricultural Policy, for example, in the area of market management, farmers' organisation, incentives for research, innovation and product quality control”. A cooperation agreement aiming to improve traditional product protection was signed in December last year and, according to Ciolos, “we are working on the question of organic farming”. (LC/transl.fl)