On Wednesday 27 July, at the request of EU Member States, the European Commission adopted a temporary derogation from the rules on crop rotation and the maintenance of non-productive elements on arable land.
This measure, the impact of which will depend on the choices made by Member States and farmers, aims to increase the EU’s production capacity for cereals intended for foodstuffs (see EUROPE 12998/3).
The text in question (https://aeur.eu/f/2r0 ) will be published on Thursday 28 July in the Official Journal of the EU.
The global food system is facing risks and uncertainties arising from, among other things, the war in Ukraine initiated by Russia.
Given the importance of the Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC) for the objectives of preserving soil potential and improving biodiversity on farms, the derogation is temporary: it is limited to the application year 2023. In addition, crops usually grown for animal feed (maize and soybeans) are therefore not covered by the derogation.
The Commission remains firmly committed to the objectives of the ‘European Green Deal’, it insists. The text stipulates that Member States making use of the derogations will have to promote ecological programmes and agri-environmental measures in their strategic programmes under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Reactions. The EU’s agricultural organisations and cooperatives (Copa-Cogeca) have welcomed the derogations from the rules on cross-compliance in the CAP. However, they question “the effective contribution of these rules to alleviating the shortages and disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine”.
Christiane Lambert, President of Copa, said that “the restrictions on growing maize, soya and short rotation coppice on set-aside land make no sense”.
CEPM (Maiz’Europ’) also “condemned” the failure to include maize and soya in the text, “on the pretext that these crops are intended for animal feed”. It highlighted that the world and European maize markets are highly destabilised by the war. Ukraine is the world’s fourth largest exporter of maize (16% of world exports) and the EU’s largest supplier (55% of its imports).
While animal feed remains the main outlet for maize in the EU, CEPM stresses that animal products also contribute to the EU’s food sovereignty and to a reduced dependence on synthetic fertilisers. A large proportion of European maize is used directly for human consumption (meal, starch and sweetcorn).
In many countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia, maize is an important staple of the human diet. “As with wheat, every tonne of maize unavailable on the world market causes additional hardship for these countries and their people. By excluding maize, the Commission does not take this reality into account”, concludes CEPM. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)