site.btaExperts Discuss Future of European Agriculture at Forum in Sofia

The future of European agriculture and the challenges facing farmers were discussed during a panel at the Green Transition Forum 6.0 in Sofia.

Agriculture and Food Minister Plamen Abrovsky said European farmers need to produce quality goods at competitive prices in order to maintain their position on global markets. "We should not pit farmers from different Member States against one another. We should be competing with farmers on the global stage," he added during the fourth day of the forum dedicated to cohesion policy, sustainable cities, the blue economy, water sustainability, and innovation in agriculture.

The forum is organized by Dir.bg and the Bulgarian-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with BTA among its media partners.

Abrovsky stressed the need for coordinated efforts within the EU to improve competitiveness and expand markets. "We need not only to show the world how environmentally friendly we are but also to demonstrate that we can produce eco-friendly and affordably enough," he added. 

He recalled that the first major crisis he had witnessed since becoming involved in the Common Agricultural Policy was the 2011 E. coli outbreak linked to cucumbers in Germany. "Since then, we have experienced one crisis after another, and European policy has been highly inadequate," Abrovsky said. He noted that reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy had begun in 2010, "when it was common," adding that with each new programming period it had become "increasingly less common." He said he feared that one day it would be referred to simply as agricultural policy. 

"Europe now needs a new development vision, a different approach, and the common agricultural policy," he said. 

Joining the discussion online, Stoyan Tchoukanov, President of the Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Section of the European Economic and Social Committee, said farmers’ organizations across Europe were aware that national finance ministries often do not prioritize agriculture. He noted that when budget decisions are left primarily to national governments, there are fears that agriculture could lose out to other priorities during times of crisis.

Tchoukanov said that food security should be regarded as part of the European Union’s overall security framework. He also pointed out that while climate change affects everyone, farmers are on the front lines of its consequences. "We need a Europe-wide solution for agricultural insurance, as the impact of climate change is increasingly making production difficult to insure. Without insurance, access to credit is impossible," he added.