The EC says that its agrarian proposal will help in ecological and digital transition

The European Commission (EC) said on Tuesday that the new budget proposal for the agricultural sector in the period 2021-2027, which will include 26.4 billion more than the one presented in 2018, will help the transition to more sustainable production and digitize the sector.

The European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, and the Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevicius, explained today at a press conference the objectives pursued by the future budget planned for the agricultural and fisheries sectors.

Both underlined the importance that these funds will have in helping producers meet the objectives of the Green Deal with which Brussels wants to achieve a CO2-neutral economy by 2050.

The Minister of Agriculture said it will help farmers produce enough food, and apply technologies to digitize the field.

He also stressed that the proposed new budget for farmers is higher than the one being considered in 2018.

“The figures in the initial 2018 proposal for the CAP were 365 billion in current prices while we are now proposing 391.4 billion,” the commissioner said.

According to Brussels, the sector will receive 2% more funds per year than in 2020, which will allow it to continue producing sustainably and make the sector stronger in the face of possible crises, according to Wojciechowski.

“Farmers were worried about the new challenges. Now we not only maintain the budget but we have something else,” he said.

The $391.4 billion includes $290.7 billion for the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (which finances direct payments and market expenditure) and $100.7 billion for the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.

In addition, countries will be able to transfer up to 15% of their Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) allocations between direct payments and rural development in order to adapt policies to their priorities.

The commissioner also referred to the ambitious “From farm to fork” strategy to make food production and consumption more sustainable and endorsed the objectives of cutting fertilizers and pesticides that he proposes.

“We do not need to change those objectives, we will have more money in the budget to support the transformation processes towards more sustainable agriculture and less intensive livestock,” he said.

He also supported the need to help local producers and reduce the transport of agri-food products as part of efforts to combat the impact of agriculture and livestock on the environment, although he acknowledged that “there are sectors that depend a lot on export and markets in other countries.”

The Commissioner for Fisheries explained, for his part, that in the budget proposal for 2021-2027 the European Marine Fisheries Fund will be reinforced with an additional 500 million euros, an increase of more than 8% compared to what was proposed in 2018.

That additional funding aims to strengthen the resilience of the fisheries sector and assist in crisis management in the future, he said.

He also indicated that the fishing sector and aquaculture “have been particularly affected by the crisis” of the coronavirus and recalled the measures put in place by Brussels to help fishermen.

These actions include support for those who have temporarily stopped fishing and the processing and shellfish industry sectors and financial assistance to fish farmers affected by the suspension or reduction of production.

Source: The Vanguard