By 2030, halve the use of pesticides, 20% that of fertilizers, devote a quarter of cultivated land to organic farming… These are the objectives of the European strategy entitled “From farm to farm. fork “, which aims to make the diet “healthier and more sustainable“in Europe. This strategy, unveiled in May 2020 by the European Commission, was voted on Tuesday, October 19, by the European Parliament (452 votes in favor, 170 against and 76 abstentions), and will have to be the subject of legislative proposals to become binding. But it is met with the discontent of the main representative organization of farmers and their cooperatives at EU level, the powerful Copa-Cogeca. Franceinfo explains why.
Because the majority agricultural union opposes any imposed reduction in pesticides
First reason: the Copa-Cogeca, chaired by the Frenchwoman Christiane Lambert (also at the head of the main French agricultural union, the FNSEA), opposes any binding pesticide reduction target. “The impact will be an unprecedented reduction in EU production capacity and farmers’ incomes”, argues the union, quoted by AFP.
To back up its alarmist remarks, the federation European agricultural unions refers in particular to a study of Joint Research Center (in English), the scientific service of the Commission, published in August. VShe report projects yield reductions of 10% to 15% for cereals, oilseeds, beef and pork, if the European strategy “From farm to fork” was applied, relying on various scenarios. But he also specifies that he only provides projections “indicative”, on incomplete models.
Green MEP Benoît Biteau, quoted by AFP, replies that the assessments brandished by Copa-Cogeca “are based on conventional agriculture, in monoculture. (…) But with agro-ecological practices such as the mixing of varieties, we do not observe these drops in productivity.” “And if we no longer use pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, production costs plummet, which weigh on farmers’ incomes”, he assures.
Because he believes that Europe will be more dependent on imports
Another risk highlighted by Copa-Cogeca: the risk of loss of food sovereignty. THEreductions in carbon emissions, he said, will be wiped out “by the import needs of less ‘green’ countries”. The French government is also on the same line as the majority European agricultural union. “I hope that those who are sad or who do not wish to open their eyes will definitely do so”, thus reacted at the end of September the Minister of Agriculture, Julien Denormandie, underlining the risk of a “nonsense in terms of sovereignty and the environment”.
For its part, the European union of pesticide manufacturers CropLife, a large organization representing agrochemicals (including the giants Bayer, DuPont, Syngenta …), also raised the specter of a Europe dependent on food imports if its production collapsed.
This organization is one of those which played an intense role in lobbying against the text, reports The world. The green MEP Benoît Biteau also denounced on his Twitter account the very active role of lobbies on the subject, whether those of pesticide manufacturers or those of the food industry.
Because he believes that accompanying measures are necessary
Finally, Copa-Cogeca is calling for impact studies and measures to support farmers, including “mirror clauses” (which oblige imported products to comply with the same environmental rules as in the European Union). Its president Christiane Lambert has also retweeted a message to this effect from Jérémy Decerle, former president of the Young Farmers (a union linked to the FNSEA) and MEP elected on an LREM list.
The agricultural concerns about the food strategy are understandable. We need a real feasibility study, an action plan to seriously support farmers. No ecological transition without income and protection #ClausesMirrors # Farm2Fork pic.twitter.com/MGMA5BC4zV
– Jérémy DECERLE (@JDecerle) October 18, 2021
But European Commissioner Stella Kyriakides assured anyway that Brussels would “carry out impact studies“before any legislative proposal, because “the existing models are incapable of integrating changes in demand, nor production losses due to climate change and degraded biodiversity“if nothing is done against greenhouse gas emissions.
Even if the text was voted by MEPs on Tuesday, it is far from coming into force. The recent compromise between MEPs and States on the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which will be voted on in November in the European Parliament, does not integrate the objectives of the “From farm to fork” strategy. “It will be a challenge to make the two coherent” and monitor the CAP envelope “to prevent significant lobbying from trying to deconstruct or even bury the strategy“food security voted by Parliament, warns AFP Benoît Biteau.