News Green Deal
'Europe makes unrealistic demands on agriculture'
The ambitions in the Green Deal are great and the resistance it provokes is growing by the day. Frans Timmermans, Vice-President of the European Commission, unveiled the plans today, which hit the agricultural sector hard.
The European Green Deal focuses on 2050. In that year the European Union will have to be climate neutral, and a broad package of measures will be imposed for this. All sectors must contribute, including the agricultural sector. Or perhaps better: especially agriculture, because the farmer is faced with quite a few challenges.
25% organic
The so-called 'Farm to Fork Strategy', as part of the Green Deal, charts the route for European agriculture. This strategy should bring producer and consumer closer together. In practice it will mainly mean restrictions for the farmer. It seems that already by 2030 a quarter of all agricultural land in the European Union must be organic. At the same time, the amount of crop protection products used by agriculture must be halved. Fertilizer use should also be reduced by 10% in 20 years.
The meat chain is also not spared in Europe's sustainability plans. For example, new legislation for the transport and slaughter of animals will be introduced to increase animal welfare. The European Commission also wants the EU to stop encouraging the production and consumption of meat. In doing so, they also explicitly target the consumer. After all, it determines what is produced, how it is done and where it comes from. The Green Deal aims to help consumers make the right choices through clearer labels on packaging and less advertising for products with a lot of sugar, salt and fat.
Disappointing
LTO Nederland states that the elements of the Farm-to-Fork strategy are still far too far removed from reality. "Disappointing", says board member Léon Faassen. "We must not forget that sustainability ultimately takes place on the land, in the stable and in the greenhouse and not from behind a desk in Brussels."
LTO warns against unequal competition due to lower standards abroad. Moreover, according to the organization, sustainability goals cannot be paid for with even more efficiency and cost reductions. A crucial condition for success is that farmers and horticulturists are compensated for the extra efforts and investments. "Unfortunately, the European Commission seems to see more in prohibitions imposed from above than in sustainability from the farmyard. This completely kills the innovative power and ambition of farmers and horticulturists: it is yet another package of regulations that is being poured out on us," says Faassen.
unrealistic plans
According to Annie Schreijer-Pierik, member of the European Parliament on behalf of the CDA, the plans are unrealistic. “The organic share of all Dutch agricultural land was 4% in 2018. The European average in 2018 was 7,7%. That has been achieved in 40 years!” According to her, the 50% reduction for crop protection will also not work and the reference date must be fair. “It should not be the case that farmers cannot receive European support or, worse, are sanctioned if they do not meet the reduction percentage.” According to Schreijer-Pierik, it is important that farmers receive incentives and not even more obligations.
Bert-Jan Ruisen of the SGP, member of the European Parliament, is also critical. “Certainly now with the corona crisis, the sector cannot have new expensive regulatory pressure. We must spare farmers, not tax them further.” The SGP argues in favor of strengthening the farmer's position in the chain. With regard to crop protection measures, Ruisen argues that the policy should be based on a different reading. “Substances are now too easily banned, without good alternatives being available.”
Biodiversity
Timmermans emphasizes that the coronavirus has actually shown how vulnerable we are. According to him, it is therefore all the more important now to restore the balance between human activity and nature and to work on goals from the Green Deal. “Climate change and the loss of biodiversity are a clear and real threat to humanity.”
In addition to the 'Farm to Fork' strategy, he also presented the biodiversity strategy as part of the Green Deal today. It addresses the main causes of biodiversity loss. For agriculture, this means, among other things, returning pollinators to farmland, improving organic farming and other biodiversity-friendly farming practices. €20 billion in funding for biodiversity will be released annually.
Too little ambitious
Contrary to many voices from agriculture and politics, Greenpeace believes that Europe is still too unambitious with the Green Deal strategies presented. “The European Commission finally recognizes the impact of overproduction and overconsumption of meat and dairy on health, nature and the climate, but no action is taken. In fact, the European Commission is too cowardly to abolish the millions that go to meat advertising, let alone review the billions that intensive industry receives. It is high time that measures were taken to reduce livestock farming and make it more sustainable.”
Jeanette Pennings
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