BRUSSELS, 24 APRIL 2024 – Today’s vote in the European Parliament simplifying certain Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) rules will not address issues of unfair pricing and decent incomes which farmers have been protesting for months. The proposal fails to address the systemic cause of farmers’ anger, namely imbalances in the agri-food supply chain. The only outcome of this vote will be to significantly lower environmental delivery of the CAP, without providing more incentives for farmers to engage in sustainability initiatives.
Jan Plagge, President of IFOAM Organics Europe is disappointed: “Today is a step backwards for Europe’s food and farming sector. This “simplification” is a missed opportunity and lowers the CAP’s environmental requirements without providing a comparative advantage to farmers who want to invest in ambitious sustainable farming systems, like organic and other agroecological practices. The proposal fails to address the real issues of low prices linked to power imbalances and will ultimately undermine the EU’s environmental ambitions and the CAP’s legitimacy.”
For the European organic movement, the CAP’s environmental delivery is a priority to be achieved by better incentivising and supporting farmers to engage in an ambitious environmental re-design of their farms, making them more resilient in case of crises and could address the crucial issues of prices and income, notably by improving the farmers’ position in the food chain.
Plagge ends his reflections: “The Farm to Fork Strategy points European agriculture to the right path. Today’s vote will drive Member States in an environmental race to the bottom and encourages farmers to lower their engagements to public goods. Farmers, especially those engaged in sustainable production methods, such as organic farming, should be fairly remunerated by both the market and the CAP.”
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