Meeting in Strasbourg on Tuesday 17 April, the European Parliament called for a “far-reaching European strategy” for the production and supply of protein crops.
With the adoption of the own-initiative report by Jean-Paul Denanot (S&D, France) on protein crops, the Parliament trusts that the future CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) will include additional proposals for supporting plant proteins, such as “three-year minimum rotation systems on arable land”, to have a leguminous component. MEPs also suggest: - the creation of an ecosystem payment that is more flexible than the greening payment in order to recognise the benefits of leguminous and oilseed crops for biodiversity; - and risk coverage mechanisms for innovative farmers. Parliament believes it important that the CAP should support protein crops using different methods, including the voluntary coupled payment, which should not be restricted to crops and regions in difficulty. It takes the view that useful lessons should be learned from the recent ban on the use of pesticides in ecological focus areas (EFAs), despite the fact that, in 2016, the latter accounted for 15% of Europe’s arable land and that almost 40% of these areas are used for nitrogen-fixing crops.
The EU continues to suffer from a major deficit in protein crops. “We are currently still over 90% dependent upon third countries” commented Denanot. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)