The Agriculture Committee (AGRI) and the Environment Committee (ENVI) of the European Parliament will jointly hold a hearing in Brussels on Tuesday regarding the potential impacts of the European Commission's new Farm to Fork strategy.
Much attention will be focused on the consequences for food production by European farmers, as well as the possible effects on their incomes. At the hearing, two studies will be presented: one by Jayson Beckman from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and another by researcher Roel Jongeneel from Wageningen University & Research.
This will be followed by presentations of studies on the resilience of food systems by Nora Hiller from the Institute for European Environmental Policy and on agroecology by Pierre – Marie Aubert from the Institut du Développement Durable et des Relations Internationales.
In the lead-up to this new strategy, many Members of the European Parliament criticized the absence of an impact assessment of these plans, something they had been urging for months. At the very last moment, a ‘technical report’ from EU researchers themselves (JRC) was presented. It argued that a sufficient and complete impact assessment was not feasible. Not all future changes can be calculated at this time, it was claimed.
The Farm to Fork strategy proposes to significantly expand organic farming to about 25 percent within a few years, including no longer using wide strips along ditches and waterways, and aims to sharply reduce the use of chemicals in agriculture. However, most models still cannot yet calculate whether consumers will buy more organic food products or be willing to pay more for food produced under stricter rules.
According to the recently published WUR study, it is ‘likely’ that the incomes and turnovers of agricultural entrepreneurs could drop between 10 to 20 percent, and production volumes could decline by as much as 30 percent if production must follow these new criteria.
WUR researchers also assume that exports will correspondingly decrease and that Europeans will buy correspondingly cheaper import products. Potential benefits for increased biodiversity, more food safety, and better health were not calculated or included in that research.
Possible compensation through new import restrictions proposed by France and others in trade agreements for foreign substitutes or future shifts in purchasing behavior cannot yet be quantified either.
The debates in the committee meeting, structured into two panels, will conclude with a statement from representatives of the European Commission, from the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development and the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety.
In October, the European Parliament determined its position on the strategy to reform the EU’s food systems. At that time, MEPs emphasized both the importance of producing sustainable and healthy food and the necessity of food security and a fair income for farmers.