tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89473342024-03-06T21:47:41.098-08:00Common Agricultural PolicyWyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.comBlogger868125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-7036407788066621482024-02-27T02:40:00.000-08:002024-02-27T02:40:36.671-08:00Ministers retreat in face of farmer protests<p>Ministers have urged the EU to increase funding for the
€60bn-a-year Common Agricultural Policy subsidy scheme in a bid to quell
protests as Belgian farmers blockaded roads and set fire to tyres in central
Brussels.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The CAP, which consumes about a third of the EU’s joint
budget and is the oldest of the bloc’s policies still in operation, is designed
to provide a steady stream of income to farmers in order to ensure food
production. But as farmers staged their latest protests on Monday over rising
costs and environmental regulations, ministers gathering in Brussels to discuss
emergency measures to placate farmers said more money was crucial.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Charlie McConalogue, Ireland’s agriculture minister, told
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Financial Times</i> that the CAP had
“eroded” in real terms over the past years and “must be strengthened in terms
of its funding”. “Food security and supporting food production [should be] put
very much back at the centre of . . . European budgetary considerations,” he
said, a call echoed by ministers from France, Poland and other eastern European
countries, according to diplomats present at the talks.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The CAP accounts for €386.6bn of the bloc’s €1.21tn common
budget, which runs from 2021 to 2027.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is
this really a good use of available funds? Some 80 per cent of the scheme’s
money goes to just 20 per cent of farmers, it is claimed, although I think this
is a lazy application of the Pareto rule.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The debate over its increase comes amid heated discussions
over priorities for the EU’s joint budget, with governments reluctant to
contribute more due to stretched national finances and a need to spend more on
defence after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Renationalisation?<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Piet Adema, the Dutch agricultural minister, told the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Financial Times</i> that instead of boosting
the CAP, member states should be allowed more flexibility in how the funds
could be used, i.e., renationalise the policy but said consumers should also
accept the need to pay more for their food. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But consumers are struggling with a cost of
living crisis.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Adema said: “There should be more transparency in the whole
food supply chain: where are the earnings made, where are the losses made and
how can we influence that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, but
there are powerful forces that would oppose that, both input multinationals and
large scale food processors.“The amount of money you pay for your food compared
to 20 or 30 years ago relatively has gone down so when we as a society want our
farmers to produce honest sustainable goods, we have to pay for them.” <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Farmers have not only called for more funds but also a
relaxation in environmental regulations and a reconsideration of trade deals
that they say are allowing cheap food imports to undercut prices for EU
producers. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Brussels mayhem<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In Brussels on Monday, hundreds of tractors blockaded
streets close to where ministers were meeting. Some drove at riot police and
destroyed barbed wire barricades set up around the main buildings. Several
protesters threw manure and brandished placards with slogans such as “leave a
future for our children, don’t kill our parents”. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Police used water cannon to douse burning tyres. The
demonstrations follow weeks of protests across EU countries including France,
Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania and Spain. Farmers blocked a major motorway in
Poland on Monday and threatened to continue their blockades for more than 20
days unless their demands were met. French President Emmanuel Macron missed a
G7 meeting at the weekend as he spent 13 hours meeting farmers at the country’s
annual Salon de l’Agriculture trade show. He called for “calm” after facing protests
at the event. “We’re not going to be able to fix the farming crisis in a few
hours,” he said. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ministers in retreat<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ministers agreed that proposals put forward by the European
Commission last week aimed at cutting red tape for farmers trying to access CAP
funds were “a step in the right direction”, said David Clarinval, Belgium’s
deputy prime minister told the Pink ‘Un, but “more ambitious measures” were
needed.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The commission has already withdrawn a flagship proposal to
cut pesticide use and deleted emissions reductions targets for agriculture from
a document outlining options for future EU climate policy. Agriculture will be
on the agenda of the EU leaders’ summit in March, one EU diplomat said. In a
letter to the commission on Friday, Copa Cogeca, the main farming lobby group,
said the bloc’s environmental agenda had resulted in “a regulatory tsunami,
with too many rushed consultations, top-down targets lacking assessment, and
proposals pushed through without feasibility studies”.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But Via Campesina, one of the groups behind Monday’s protest,
which represents small food producers and agricultural workers, said: “Putting
a stop to various measures aimed at protecting the environment is an easy
solution that meets the needs of agribusiness players. Administrative
simplification measures are necessary, but obviously insufficient to guarantee
an income for our farms.”<o:p></o:p></p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-51435812953645849462024-02-26T01:37:00.000-08:002024-02-26T01:37:57.742-08:00Why farmers are protesting<p>Some excellent in depth analysis of why farmers are protesting across Europe and how they relate to climate change: <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-how-do-the-eu-farmer-protests-relate-to-climate-change/">https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-how-do-the-eu-farmer-protests-relate-to-climate-change/</a></p><p>Look out for some further analysis that will appear soon in <i>Political Quarterly.</i></p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-2814505955708257662024-02-07T03:51:00.000-08:002024-02-07T03:51:33.586-08:00Commission backs down on greening agriculture<p>The European Commission has thrown in the towel on plans to cut climate change emissions in agriculture: <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/eu-commission-backtracks-on-agricultural-emissions-cuts/">https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/eu-commission-backtracks-on-agricultural-emissions-cuts/</a></p><p>The recent farmer protests across Europe have undoubtedly been a factor, but there has also been concern about far right gains in the upcoming European Parliament elections which could undermine the European project as a whole. The desire of Urusla von Ley en to secure a second term as Commission president is also part of the context: <a href="https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/news/speech-president-von-der-leyen-european-parliament-plenary-conclusions-european-council-meetings-2024-02-06_en">https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/news/speech-president-von-der-leyen-european-parliament-plenary-conclusions-european-council-meetings-2024-02-06_en</a>.</p><p>Reducing climate change emissions in agriculture are not an optional extra. In France, for example, they account for 12 per cent of emissions, far exceeding the contribution of agriculture to GDP or employment. Unfortunately, governments in general have a tendency to back away from effective measures of climate change once they threaten current lifestyles or working patterns. This is in spite of increasing evidence of a climate emergency.</p><p>Apparently the intention is to have a policy that covers the food sector as a whole which is not without merit but undermined if other measures are dropped. The Greens are calling for a windfall tax on the profits of agri-food companies.</p><p>The plan to halve pesticide use by 2030 is to be dropped. This is, of course, not directly related to climate change. It would have an impact on production. Biological alternatives to synthetics are being developed and are increasing market share, but there are not enough of them and they are not suitable for all crops. This policy might also have been onerous for farmers in terms of form filling.' According to von Leyen, the pesticides measure has become a symbol of polarization. Shares in Bayer, the EU's biggest pesticides producer, rose by 2 per cent.</p><p>Animal welfare rules are set to be watered down and unpopular (and largely ineffective) set aside requirements abandoned.</p><p><br /></p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-18080416572321698822024-02-04T06:13:00.000-08:002024-02-05T04:42:59.096-08:00Why farmers are in revolt<p>It's been no surprise to see French farmers blocking motorways. Such demonstrations are part of the political culture of France and farmers are particularly likely to resort to them.</p><p>However, all over Europe farmers are in revolt. In the Netherlands they have given support to an insurgent party while Polish farmers are threatening to block the border with Ukraine to halt grain shipments.</p><p>All this is happening when farmers receive quite generous subsidies with the CAP still accounting for around a third of the EU budget. Admittedly, input prices went up sharply in recent inflation.</p><p>The grievances cited by the farmers are many but among them are imports which under cut them and are produced used pesticides no longer permitted in the EU. The EU's whole green agenda is seen as a threat, not least because of the form filling burden it imposes.</p><p>Four per cent set aside is unpopular as the land still has to be maintained and it does little to boost biodiversity.</p><p>Farmers have attracted some support from the public, not least in France where gastronomy is so central to the national identity.</p><p>So what is the answer? There isn't a simple one. Blocking imports would harm developing countries and put up prices for consumers. Up to now the CAP has not been modified to take account of climate change and the green agenda was intended to address this and other environmental issues such as biodiversity. It cannot be abandoned.</p><p>Over ten years ago I wrote an article emphasizing the importance of policy instruments in the CAP and the need for them to be better designed - more closely related to policy objectives while imposing fewer transaction costs on farmers.</p><p>However, simplification has long been a call in the CAP and not much progress has been made. Indeed, complexity is almost what defines the policy, deterring policy outsiders from probing too closely.</p><p>Alan Matthews has an interesting perspective. He argues that the evidence shows that<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">farmers have made steady gains in their income from agriculture over the last two decades (since 2005) and agricultural income levels have been at their highest in the past three years, despite higher input costs:</span></span> <a href="http://capreform.eu/what-is-actually-happening-with-agricultural-incomes/">http://capreform.eu/what-is-actually-happening-with-agricultural-incomes/</a></p><p><br /></p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-39750594588589167112024-01-23T01:44:00.000-08:002024-01-23T01:44:41.823-08:00EU green thrust irks farmers<p>No surprise perhaps to seem them on the streets, but French farmers have begun blocking motorways and targeting
government buildings to express anger over rising costs and what they call
suffocating red tape at both a national and EU level.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“To attain our
objectives, violence is not the answer, but some farmers have simply had
enough,” said Arnaud Rousseau, head of the country’s biggest farmers’ union,
FNSEA, on France Inter radio on Monday. He promised further demonstrations
until farmers’ concerns were addressed. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The government has said for months it would introduce
legislation to help farmers but on Sunday pushed back the proposal for a few
weeks, saying it wanted to improve it. The movement in France, the
biggest agricultural producer in the EU and a main recipient of the bloc’s
Common Agricultural Policy subsidies, comes as similar protests have occurred
in recent weeks in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the Netherlands, farmer discontent over fertiliser
curbs helped boost an insurgent party..<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Although farmers’ rage has sometimes been touched off by
national measures such as a fuel tax subsidy cut in Germany, there is also a broad
consensus against the EU’s “farm to fork” strategy that aims to reduce
pesticide use and impose new rules to take climate change into account in
farming practices. <o:p></o:p></p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-2579793463463573472023-12-19T04:11:00.000-08:002023-12-20T00:29:46.487-08:00Withdrawal of tax break angers German farmers<p>As Germany faces a budget crisis, German farmers are furious at the withdrawal of the tax exemption for agricultural diesel. Farmers blockaded large parts of central Berlin with a convoy of tractors yesterday.</p><p>The measure is expected to save the state about €900m a year and was apparently agreed over the head of farm minister Cem Ozdemir who has publicly criticised it. It is estimated that the average farm will have to pay an additional €6,000 a year in tax as a result.</p><p>'Red' diesel was retained in the UK after Brexit.</p><p>More on this hee: <a href="https://unherd.com/thepost/germanys-farmer-protests-spell-trouble-for-olaf-scholz/">https://unherd.com/thepost/germanys-farmer-protests-spell-trouble-for-olaf-scholz/</a><br /></p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-61177552415543888172023-11-02T01:44:00.002-07:002023-12-19T04:06:50.665-08:00Progress on greening CAP 'stalling<p>Progress on the greening of the CAP is stalling according to the OECD: <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/tie-farming-subsidies-to-performance-oecd-tells-eu/">https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/tie-farming-subsidies-to-performance-oecd-tells-eu/</a></p><p>The OECD calls for a more results oriented CAP.</p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-71531748534774414112023-10-13T03:22:00.005-07:002023-10-13T03:22:59.780-07:00UK agricultural policy after Brexit<p>My article with Alan Greer on the impact of Brexit on agricultural policy in the four nations of the UK is available to view free online: <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13501763.2023.2204118">https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13501763.2023.2204118</a></p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-57995075162351160112023-10-10T23:21:00.005-07:002023-10-10T23:21:42.874-07:00The CAP after 2027<p>The debate about the CAP post 2027 is starting and Alan Matthews looks in depth at an IEEP paper on the green transition: <a href="http://capreform.eu/how-to-advance-the-green-transition-in-the-next-cap-post-2027/">http://capreform.eu/how-to-advance-the-green-transition-in-the-next-cap-post-2027/</a></p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-66410118529676251802023-09-26T21:41:00.003-07:002023-09-26T21:41:15.083-07:00Pessimism about pesticides regulation not justified<p><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With the European Parliament scheduled to vote on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation in November, this open access article by JRC scientists sets out why fears of negative impacts on production are overblown:</span></span> <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-023-00834-6">https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-023-00834-6</a></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Recent studies have estimated the potential yield impacts of pesticide reductions in the European Union. While these estimates guide policy design, they are often based on worst-case assumptions and rarely account for positive ecological feedbacks that would contribute to sustainable crop yields in the long term.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">'</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Protecting crop yields is critical to safeguarding food and feed security. Studies on the potential yield impacts of a reduction in pesticide use and risk in the EU estimated adverse effects. As shown here, the literature suggests that these estimates are upper bounds for several reasons that must be acknowledged in research on the impacts of a pesticide reduction: the full 50% reduction does not fall onto feed and food crops; the heterogeneity in pesticide use across farms, areas and crops can be exploited in reduction plans; risk-based indices allow for progress by substituting active substances; the expansion of the area under organic farming may deliver progress; the SUR facilitates agronomic and technological alternatives to pesticides; and ecosystem services supporting sustainable crop yields will benefit from lower pesticide use. Finally, the SUR improves the availability of data on pesticide use and, in doing so, addresses a bottleneck</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Harding, Palatino, serif; font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">in research and policy-making concerning more sustainable food systems.'</span></span></p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-44849577532812904372023-09-12T03:11:00.006-07:002023-09-12T03:11:42.572-07:00EU in retreat over animal welfare?<p>The EU is considering scrapping plans to impose regulations
designed to improve animal welfare in the farming industry over concerns about
the impact it could have on food inflation, according to senior officials.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The European Commission had promised to act after public
pressure to stop practices such as the use of cages for livestock, the killing
of day-old chicks, and the sale and production of fur. But concerns that the
proposed changes could add to food costs, which rose sharply after Russia
invaded Ukraine last year, have led Brussels to reconsider the plans. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Three EU officials with knowledge of the matter told the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Financial Times </i>that the Commission had
dropped the proposals completely — along with a sustainable food law designed
to boost green food production across the bloc. But another official said it
was reviewing the animal welfare plan and would propose a scaled-back version. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This sounds like a trial balloon to judge
reactions.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Some in the commission are worried about the cost,” said
Joe Moran, director of European policy for Four Paws, an animal welfare
campaign group. The legislation is among the few remaining parts of the EU’s
Green Deal climate package, laid out in 2019 to pivot the bloc to a more
sustainable economy. But ahead of EU-wide elections in 2024, conservative
politicians have pushed back against the environmental regulations.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Typically, the reaction of farm organizations is to call for
more subsidies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pekka Pesonen,
secretary-general of Copa-Cogeca, the EU farmer’s group, told the FT it could
support many of the changes as long as they received financial aid to implement
them, and if imported meat was subject to the same standards. That would in
effect ban many imports from trading partners such as Brazil, Ukraine and
Thailand. Such a measure would also be opposed by trade commissioner Valdis
Dombrovskis.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The UK was one of the strongest advocates of animal welfare
measures and its voice is no longer heard in the EU.<o:p></o:p></p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-43857684833123071812023-08-02T04:48:00.001-07:002023-08-02T04:48:22.618-07:00British farmers think things were better when the EU made policy<p>The voting behaviour of UK farmers in the Brexit referendum mirrored that of the population as a whole, but quite a few are now regretting their choice according to a Farmers' Weekly survey of 950 farmers and those in ancillary industries. </p><p>Two-thirds of those surveyed thought that the UK was better off when the EU devised policy, ironically a view strongest among those growing non-supported crops such as potatoes, sugar beet and fruit.</p><p>Three-quarters of respondents said that Brexit had been negative for the UK economy and 69 per cent said that it had been very or fairly negative for their own businesses. If the vote could be held again, there would be an eight per cent swing from leave to remain. 65 per cent said that it made it less likely they would vote Conservative.</p><p>Both arable and livestock farmers seemed equally disappointed Even more negative were those growing vegetables (81 per cent) or keeping pigs (79 per cent).</p><p>A clear majority said that despite pre-Brexit promises of 'a bonfire of red tape' once Britain left the EU, the reverse had been true. My talks to farmers around the north of England convinced me that some had a very surprising view of the regulations that could be discarded.</p><p>The phasing out of the Basic Payment Scheme in England attracted a lot of criticism, it being claimed that farming could not survive without support. Arguably this shows an industry that had become too reliant on subsidies not tied to outcomes.</p><p><br /></p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-12981019075004764462023-05-24T01:07:00.002-07:002023-05-24T01:07:08.589-07:00How has UK agricultural policy changed since Brexit?<p>Some thoughts here: <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2023/05/24/how-has-uk-agricultural-policy-changed-since-brexit/">https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2023/05/24/how-has-uk-agricultural-policy-changed-since-brexit/</a></p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-88063403992125074252023-05-05T00:22:00.001-07:002023-05-05T00:22:36.085-07:00Divergence and continuity after Brexit<p>My article with Alan Greer on 'Divergence and Continuity after Brexit in agriculture' in the Journal of European Public Policy is now available online: <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13501763.2023.2204118">https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13501763.2023.2204118</a></p><p><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Throughout British membership of the European Union (EU), agricultural policy was largely determined by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). This was viewed by the UK as a dysfunctional policy and while periodic reforms meant that the EU moved slowly in the direction advocated by the UK, many of the main policy elements remained in place. The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have always enjoyed a measure of policy freedom in agriculture and have diverged from England in some areas. This article explores the extent of de-Europeanisation in the agricultural sectors in the UK and the patterns of divergence between them, focusing primarily on the development of policies for agricultural support that will replace those in place under the CAP. Overall, there has been substantial divergence in policy, but also areas of continuity, which means that processes of de-Europeanisation in the UK agricultural sectors has been uneven.</span></span></p><p><br /></p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-51185993255216167832023-05-02T00:25:00.004-07:002023-05-02T00:25:33.007-07:00Fallow land boosts biodiversity<p>Research suggests that fallow land can promote bird biodiversity: <a href="https://phys.org/news/2023-04-fallow-bird-biodiversity.html">https://phys.org/news/2023-04-fallow-bird-biodiversity.html</a></p><p>It is suggested that getting rid of set aside in the CAP was a mistake, but there was a broader set of arguments about that policy. The current emphasis on food security would make it difficult to reinstate.</p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-10719204142624785622023-04-27T04:22:00.003-07:002023-04-27T04:22:34.603-07:00Ag committee wants cattle kept out of emission plans<p>The EU Parliament's Agriculture Committee wants to exclude cattle and other livestock from plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions: <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/agriculture-meps-ask-to-exclude-cows-from-emission-cutting-plans/">https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/agriculture-meps-ask-to-exclude-cows-from-emission-cutting-plans/</a></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Cattle are responsible for 68-74 per cent
of livestock emissions. Methane from cattle is shorter lived than carbon dioxide but is
estimated to be 28 times more potent in warming the atmosphere.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
2018 methane emissions from enteric fermentation in digestive systems of
ruminant livestock continued to be the largest single component of farm-gate
emissions. Enteric fermentation is a natural part of the digestive process in
ruminant animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, and buffalo. This
is a digestive process as enzymes in their gut break down grass, hay and other
feed. Microbes in the digestive tract,
or rumen, decompose and ferment food, producing methane as a by-product. The gas, which builds up in stomachs, is
then emitted largely through their burps</span></span></p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-29540726020437649252022-12-22T00:49:00.001-08:002022-12-22T00:49:08.732-08:00Crackdown on livestock farm emissions<p>Alan Matthews explains why extending the Industrial Emissions Directive to the most polluting livestock farms is justified. It will be extended to large dairy and cattle farms and more pig and poultry farms. Ammonia and methane emissions have fallen by very little since 2005. The livestock sector is responsible for the majority of them: <a href="http://capreform.eu/regulating-the-most-polluting-livestock-farms-is-justified/">http://capreform.eu/regulating-the-most-polluting-livestock-farms-is-justified/</a></p><p>The proposal has attracted strong opposition in the European Parliament.</p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-33673805181897245592022-12-11T00:15:00.002-08:002022-12-11T00:15:26.460-08:00Structural change in EU agriculture<p>Alan Matthews looks at the evidence on the changing structure of EU agriculture. Although the number of farms has declined, the area farmed remains broadly stable: <a href="http://capreform.eu/tracking-structural-change-in-eu-agriculture/">http://capreform.eu/tracking-structural-change-in-eu-agriculture/</a></p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-52455178081081634262022-11-25T00:50:00.002-08:002022-11-25T00:50:27.300-08:00Commission approves CAP strategic plans<p>The Commission has now approved twenty strategic CAP plans with eight still to go: <a href="https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/cap-my-country/cap-strategic-plans/approved-csp-0_en">https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/cap-my-country/cap-strategic-plans/approved-csp-0_en</a></p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-57500993423167337002022-09-14T02:59:00.003-07:002022-09-14T02:59:52.635-07:00Pesticide pause?<p>The EU is considering delaying plans to halve the use of pesticides over fears that the move could cut production and raise food prices at a time when they are under pressure from the conflict in Ukraine.</p><p>The Sustainable Use of Pesticides regulation intends to halve chemicals use by 2030. This was always an ambitious project, given the lack of progress in getting biological alternatives developed, registered and on the market - and training farmers in their use.</p><p>EU farm lobby Copa-Cogeca is pushing for a range of green initiatives to be delayed or abandoned.</p><p>The current Czech presidency does not expect to find a compromise by the end of the year and there is some unease in the European Parliament about the proposal. </p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-69814442014987816862022-09-12T03:36:00.001-07:002022-09-12T03:36:05.618-07:00Energy costs hit food supplies across Europe<p>UK growers are scaling back production in greenhouses as energy costs increase, a pattern that is replicated across Europe. Crops that require intensive heating in colder climates such as tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce are the most directly affected.</p><p>However, the energy crisis is impacting the EU food supply chain more directly. Bakers, dairy farmers and other producers, including growers of sugar beet and olives are struggling to pay bills. The price of inputs such as fertiliser and animal feed has shot up, alongside rising refrigeration and transport costs.</p><p>The UK's support plan for small businesses lasts just six months and so far lacks detail. It is claimed that 75 to 80 per cent of UK salad growers will not plant next year.</p><p>In the Netherlands, which accounts for a quarter of world tomato exports, many glasshouses are going dark. The largest tomato supplier in Sweden and Denmark is also switching off this winter. Growers in Spain and Morocco may not be able to fill the gap.</p><p>In Italy, where growers are already struggling with a drought, it is estimated that a third of farmers are operating at a loss. Monthly energy bills have typically tripled and fertiliser costs are up fourfold. Many farmers on fixed contracts are choosing to sell the energy on.</p><p>Farmers may increase output of less energy intensive crops such as peppers.</p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-73746461834500531992022-07-28T00:45:00.004-07:002022-07-28T00:46:26.273-07:00New thinking on agriculture and food policy<p>My new book on agricultural and food policy is now out.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRc-oH66IuQTzdz00zQPo3-gJyQ0DzbzGorDybTGh-BrZG4l4kCmwXGW_3tBZEkdIxQy4sOpA426644iRRWKifxBfG8MG2XFiCs9yf74OhNBBfZd_340IttTHCPy1rz4bV2RNfS3Q0gRGPWmUl7VRqVjHcU6g6V-2YsxufLnrh9NNUfBp-_A/s1800/Agbook.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1139" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRc-oH66IuQTzdz00zQPo3-gJyQ0DzbzGorDybTGh-BrZG4l4kCmwXGW_3tBZEkdIxQy4sOpA426644iRRWKifxBfG8MG2XFiCs9yf74OhNBBfZd_340IttTHCPy1rz4bV2RNfS3Q0gRGPWmUl7VRqVjHcU6g6V-2YsxufLnrh9NNUfBp-_A/s320/Agbook.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">This book takes stock of the urgent challenges facing food chains globally and provides a critical evaluation of radical new thinking and perspectives on agricultural and food policy. Wyn Grant investigates the principal drivers of change in food and agriculture, including globalization, climate change, the structure of the industry, changing patterns of consumer demand and new technologies.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Rethinking Agricultural and Food Policy provides a comprehensive account of the contemporary challenges impacting the food chain. Chapters explore the various barriers towards positive progress, exposing the deficiency of institutional architecture at a domestic and international level and examining how attempts to reform and revitalize it encounter inertia, embedded production structures, defenders of the status quo and vested interests. Proposing that a holistic, interdisciplinary approach is essential in making progress towards revitalizing policy and encouraging innovation in international governance, Wyn Grant calls for a new agenda to deliver real and necessary change and offer hope for the planet and its people.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Using critical insights from natural and social science to uphold its calls for a holistic, integrated approach to agricultural and food policy, this timely book will be an essential read for policy makers, as well as students taking undergraduate or postgraduate courses in agriculture, food and the environment.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">More information here: <a href="https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/rethinking-agricultural-and-food-policy-9781800881204.html">https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/rethinking-agricultural-and-food-policy-9781800881204.html</a></span></span></p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-52251926476922720482022-03-22T02:28:00.007-07:002022-03-22T02:40:04.302-07:00Farm to Fork strategy under threat<p>The EU's commitment to tackle climate change in the food chain has arguably never been as strong as it should been, in part because of pressure from the agri-food industries, but the Farm to Fork strategy at least outlined a way forward and set some targets. Now it is under jeopardy as climate change is once again relegated in importance as food security comes to the fore given the historic role of Ukraine as a European 'bread basket'.</p><p>Farm to Fork targets included cutting fertiliser use by a fifth (it may reduce anyway because of soaring prices), halving the use of antibiotics and increasing the amount of land farmed organically from 9 per cent to 23 per cent. Pesticide use has already decreased with many substances banned.</p><p>French president Emmanuel Macron has said that the sustainable food strategy was 'based on a pre-Ukraine war world' and should be revised, claiming it would lead to a 13 per cent drop in food production: <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/macron-wants-to-adapt-eu-farm-to-fork-to-the-post-ukraine-war-world/">https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/macron-wants-to-adapt-eu-farm-to-fork-to-the-post-ukraine-war-world/</a> </p><p>He would, wouldn't he? He is facing a presidential election in which he needs the votes of farmers, but Italy and Spain have raised similar concerns.</p><p>The farm lobby in the form of Copa/Cogeca have seized the window of political opportunity and called for increased fertiliser imports, pesticide use and cultivation of crops for animal feed. They have also called for opt outs from ecological schemes and climate-linked animal welfare standards.</p><p>The Food Policy Coalition insists that the war in Ukraine is a reminder of how important it is to implement the Green Deal and the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies: <a href="https://foodpolicycoalition.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Joint-open-letter-EU-food-supply-and-solidarity-response-to-the-war-in-Ukraine.-March-2022.pdf">https://foodpolicycoalition.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Joint-open-letter-EU-food-supply-and-solidarity-response-to-the-war-in-Ukraine.-March-2022.pdf</a></p><p>Farm ministers were meeting in Brussels on Monday March 21st.</p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-52803230499400652542022-03-10T03:45:00.001-08:002022-03-10T03:45:10.133-08:00Food security prioritised over ecology<p>The majority of European Parliament agricultural committee rapporteurs want a new emphasis on food security even if it means watering down ecological focus areas: <a href="https://www.politico.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/10/STAMPED_D20227683_Lins-Wojciechowski_Ukraine.pdf?utm_source=POLITICO.EU&utm_campaign=96260bf5c9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_03_10_06_09&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_10959edeb5-96260bf5c9-188948165">https://www.politico.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/10/STAMPED_D20227683_Lins-Wojciechowski_Ukraine.pdf?utm_source=POLITICO.EU&utm_campaign=96260bf5c9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_03_10_06_09&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_10959edeb5-96260bf5c9-188948165</a></p><p>The green transition is certainly in danger and there is a risk of taking panic measures in current circumstances. Measures to tackle climate change had their limits in the CAP anyway. Production and environmental protection need not be an 'either or' choice.</p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947334.post-29926451066226066872022-03-07T23:14:00.000-08:002022-03-07T23:14:03.535-08:00Risks to the sustainability agenda<p>It could be 'back to the future' as farm organisations use the war in Ukraine to bang the food security drum. There are, of course, real issues here, given the importance of Russia and Ukraine in wheat production, but there is a risk of reverting to old fashioned blunt instrument subsidies and downgrading the sustainability agenda.</p><p>In particular one could create a false dichotomy between food security and sustainability: <a href="https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2022/03/07/Ukraine-war-detonates-EU-food-security-debate-but-will-sustainability-be-collateral-damage#">https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2022/03/07/Ukraine-war-detonates-EU-food-security-debate-but-will-sustainability-be-collateral-damage#</a></p><p>I will write more about this issue in the coming days.</p>Wyn Granthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473299774041779419noreply@blogger.com0