Food security in the context of the Russian-initiated war in Ukraine will take centre stage at the informal meeting of EU Agriculture Ministers in Prague from 14 to 16 September.
On Friday 16 September, in the Czech capital, the Ministers will debate the role of agriculture and the EU food industry in sustainable global food production.
New genomic breeding techniques (NBT) are part of the answer, as stated in a document prepared by the Czech Presidency of the EU Council for the ministerial debate. On this issue of NBTs, the European Commission is expected to present a legislative proposal in the first half of 2023. NBTs and other innovations have great potential to improve farmers’ resilience to climate change, particularly in the event of drought, sources said on Friday 9 September.
Increase in fertiliser prices. Ministers should also address the problem of high fertiliser prices. The European Commission proposed on 19 July to suspend customs duties on inputs used for the production of nitrogen fertilisers until the end of 2024. The aim of this proposal is to help alleviate the costs of EU fertiliser producers and farmers in the context of the war in Ukraine (see EUROPE 12998/4).
In view of the challenges posed by issues such as climate change, war and inflation, delegations are asked by the Czech Presidency to answer the following questions: “How could European and global coordination be improved to enhance synergies and effectiveness of actions affecting global food security?” And, secondly, “what could be the contribution of new technologies and genomic selection techniques to achieve more sustainable food systems?”
The European Commission has already presented a series of measures to help the agricultural sector cope with the effects of the war, including derogations in 2022 and 2023 from the rules on crop rotation and set-aside land to boost production in the context of the war in Ukraine (see EUROPE 13002/24). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)