The agri-food system is “far from sustainable”, was the message hammered home by Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, on Monday 22 June when he presented the new biodiversity strategy for 2030.
“Agricultural policy and environment policy must go hand in hand and it is important to support farmers in their efforts to become more sustainable”, the Commissioner told the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee (see EUROPE 12500/12) from the outset.
The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the vulnerability of our supply chain, even though farmers have been able to adapt, most specifically by bringing agriculture closer to citizens, he said.
According to the Commissioner, we must ensure that agricultural production contributes both to our well-being and to the balance of ecosystems and natural resources. We need a “true transformation” of the agri-food system, Mr Sinkevičius argued.
He then insisted on the principal elements of this strategy, in particular: the mandatory restoration of 30% of terrestrial and marine ecosystems by 2030; the devotion of a quarter of cultivated land to organic farming; a 50% reduction in the usage and risks of chemical pesticides by 2030.
“If we don't address this biodiversity challenge, farmers will suffer”, he warned. “And switching to agro-ecological practices will reduce input costs”, he said. Diets must also change: “Less meat and less milk means less land needed for production”, the Commissioner said.
Finally, he wants the biodiversity strategy to work with farmers and not against them. The new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will, he said, make it possible to implement this strategy. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)