On Thursday, the ENVI and AGRI Committees of the European Parliament will vote on their draft report presenting their official reaction to the Farm to Fork strategy. While the first studies on the impact of the strategy launched by the Commission in 2020 show extremely worrisome trends, MEPs are planning to call for several additional objectives and targets for the Commission Strategy that would be simply untenable for the EU farming community.
Following the result of the final trilougue between the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission on the CAP reform, CIBE notes that the legislators have considered the sugar sector as a key one in these negotiations. Unfortunatley, this has not led to an adequate and concrete decision to make sugar eligible for public intervention and strengthen the resilience of the sector.
Following the anniversary of the Farm to Fork Strategy on 20th May, today several members of the Agri-Food Chain Roundtable on Plant Protection have released a co-signed open letter about the importance of a holistic assessment before making any decisions about the reduction of pesticide use, including the target of 50% reduction of the use of chemicals as set in the Farm to Fork Strategy.
Today marks one year to the day since the Farm to Fork strategy was presented in Brussels by the European Commission. However, we cannot celebrate its anniversary, as the strategy still raises too many questions in the European farming and agri-food community. A year of intense debate has only increased the number of our concerns.
On 19 April 2021, the Civil Dialogue Group on SUGAR which meets twice a year discussed the trade dimension of the Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy. Earlier this year, CIBE (International Confederation of European Beet Growers), CEFS (Association of European Sugar Manufacturers), together with EFFAT (European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions) had the opportunity to comment on the EU Commission Communication on the Trade Policy Review from 18 February 2021.
See how the beet sugar sector is working hard to develop sustainable alternatives to respond to the ban of some key plant protection products.
Such alternatives will most likely have to consist of a combination of techniques and approaches. To develop and successfully implement these will require time, several years and considerable financial investment.
EU Farm to Fork & EU Biodiversity Strategies
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CIBE is part of Agriculture & Progress, a platform for sustainable crop production and plant protection techniques.
In October 2013, the European beet growers (CIBE), sugar producers (CEFS) and trade unions of the food and agriculture sector (EFFAT) have formalised a landmark agreement to jointly highlight and report on representative Good Practices of sustainable production of beet sugar in the EU.
CIBE takes part in the AgroCycle project, a Sino-EU collaborative research venture, funded by the European Commission under its Horizon 2020 programme to create a protocol for the implementation of the 'circular economy' across the agri-food sector.
SUGAR BEET AND SUSTAINABILITY
In October 2013, the European Beet Growers (CIBE), sugar producers (CEFS) and trade unions of the food and agriculture sector (EFFAT) have formalised a landmark agreement to jointly highlight and report on representative Good Practices of sustainable production of beet sugar in the EU.