The EU has been told to increase food production in order to stave off possible food shortages.
“The European Commission must take a clear line to support European farmers to grow as much food as possible now”, said Herbert Dorfmann MEP, the EPP Group Spokesman in the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee.
“The Russian attack on Ukraine has caused a global food crisis. The two countries produce a third of the world’s wheat, not to mention other grains and oilseeds. When a good part of that production is cut from the global markets, the poorest are the first to suffer. Europe is a net food exporter, but we need to do our best to increase our own production by all means available”, said Dorfmann.
“We have called on the European Commission to postpone all legislation that could reduce food production. The Commission must review the targets and timetable of the Farm to Fork and the biodiversity strategy law proposals, notably the ones concerning plant protection products, nature restoration and supply chain due diligence. The Commission must also conclude a thorough impact assessment of these proposals, as the EPP Group has been demanding for a long time”, Dorfmann underlined.
“In light of the current market circumstances, the ambition of reducing production areas by 10 percent cannot be implemented”, Dorfmann pointed out. “We welcome the decision to use ecological focus areas for food production as the Commission has proposed. But to be productive, farmers must also be allowed to use plant protection products and fertilisers in these areas.”
“The Commission must take a clear line to give our farmers security. Only such security can safeguard our future harvests.”
