Europe’s farms and food are what makes us what we are

Agriculture and food production are at the heart of the European project. From the earliest days of the Common Agricultural Policy, it has been acknowledged that the EU has a responsibility to ensure its population would not suffer food shortages, like those which affected the whole continent long after the end of World War II.

And implicit in that was the idea that farmers should be supported in their vocation.

For me, an MEP for the largely rural constituency of Ireland’s Midlands-North West region, this duty is all the more pressing. Having joined the AGRI Committee of the European Parliament this summer, I’m also all too aware of the sectoral challenges the EU faces in the next parliamentary session.

Earlier this year, the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) released a report highlighting the urgent need for building climate resilience through agricultural practice. Too often, perhaps, food production is presented as at odds with climate action.

But as the IEEP pointed out, the production of core European crops is facing serious challenges due to climate change. An IEEP spokesperson was quoted as saying that “the production of wheat, olives, and potatoes will drop dramatically in the European continent within a few decades, due to the effects of climate change on production if we fail to take adaptive measures.”

That was before the summer, when consumers across Europe saw the price of olive oil rise dramatically. This, only a couple of years after the invasion of Ukraine, saw the price of wheat and sunflower oil leap.

These phenomena demonstrate the urgency of creating an agricultural system that guarantees stable and sustainable domestic production for Europeans, while also ensuring secure incomes for farmers. This means working with, and listening to, farmers on issues including biodiversity,

Farmers know why sustainable climate matters

While farmers’ first priority is often the production of food and resources, we also entrust them with stewardship of the environment. Despite this duty that farmers take extremely seriously, there exists a narrative that farming and climate and environmental action are intrinsically at odds with one another.

But this does not chime with my experience as a public representative. In spite of populist rhetoric, I’ve never met a farmer who was not acutely aware of the importance of the need for a sustainable climate and environment.

Studies have shown that small farmers create higher yields and improve biodiversity. And increasingly, I see farmers who are working to alter their practices to the new reality and create new, sustainable ways of growing nutrient-rich food through methods such as regenerative farming.

Farmers such as Seán Gilligan and Rob Kennedy of Knockarea farm in County Sligo, Ireland, who among their stated aims say they will “regenerate soils and increase biodiversity within our local environment”, “stand up as young farmers and take responsibility for the direction farming goes in the future”, and “behave with integrity, be patient and work within the current rules set out by the EU”.

To me, this feels like an opportunity and a challenge: isn’t it essential that the EU balances integrity and patience with creating the best possible future for our farmers and our planet?

How we meet these challenges will be essential to the future of all EU citizens.

None of this is simple, but it is essential

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has made admirable public commitments to the targets set out in the European Green Deal, which is presented as central to the story of her Commission.

In a time of great geopolitical challenges, long-term planning for our food security and the climate in which it’s grown must remain a top priority for all decision-makers.

The publication of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture has provided pointers as to the way ahead.

The Dialogue suggests CAP reform that provides socio-economic support for the farmers who need it most; promotes positive environmental, social, and animal welfare outcomes, and invigorates enabling conditions for rural areas. It also envisages a Temporary Just Transition Fund and a Nature Restoration Fund that provide financial support outside of CAP, and public/private co-operation to help farmers build sustainable practices.

None of this is simple, but it is essential. We all understand the need — but as ever in politics, sustaining the will for action is paramount. That will be my task on the AGRI Committee in the years ahead.

Of course, it’s not up to farmers to save the planet alone. Many other sectors will need to radically alter their behaviours in order to reduce emissions and restore biodiversity, and the EU should be looking to support them too.

But farms and food are literally what makes us what we are. Ensuring they are supported and guided through a transition that works for people and for the planet must be a priority for everyone as the EU sets its financial frameworks in the coming years.

Maria Walsh (EPP/Ireland) is a Member of the European Parliament (MEP).