Strategic dialogue on the future of agriculture

The final report provides young farmers with practical pathways in the sustainable transition, by stating that no one is obliged to do the impossible alone and creating the conditions for the sharing of responsibility between public, private and civil society actors. Beyond the multiple positive outcomes for farming and rural communities, the dialogue has encouraged the emergence of a new governance model, which CEJA welcomes and aims to maintain in the next 5 years of EU mandate.
CEJA President Peter Meedendorp, who took part in the dialogue on behalf of CEJA, further explained the change of paradigm the report represents: “We are moving away from a methodology of defining objectives as high as possible for farmers to align with, to actually making steps into the transition in a collective and strategic way.” Summing up the approach of CEJA in the dialogue, he added: “For us, the policy choice is simple: we can either spend 30 years fighting on the objectives to achieve, or we can act now and make sure every farmer in Europe has the capacity to develop viable and sustainable activities that benefit both their socio-economic conditions and the society at large.”

Some of the most significant outcomes, from the young farmers’ perspective, are the following:
1.    1. A more practical sustainability strategy is possible – There has been a collective acknowledgement of trade-offs between sustainability objectives and of the difficulty to settle them on the farm alone. The proposed benchmarking system has the potential to act as a compass in the transition, setting up the structure in which the trade-offs between different objectives and policies are addressed democratically. The system is coupled with the creation of a new governance model, the European Board of Agri-Food (EBAF), focused on a bottom-up approach and allowing stakeholders to solve disputes in a less polarised context.
2.   2. Generational renewal is a central objective of all actors around the table – Stakeholders across the board have overwhelmingly supported the central objective of generational renewal in agriculture, which has laid at the core of CEJA’s mission for the past 66 years. Key recommendations in this area include the creation of an Action Plan on Generational Renewal in the continuity of last year’s initiative report of the European Parliament, the introduction of a €3 billion loan package by the European Investment Bank with preferential access to young farmers, as well as some key recommendations to address the topics of land access, mobility and competition;
3.   3. The strategic role of agriculture is recognised – The agricultural sector is placed at the core of society and the economy, acknowledged in its benefits for individuals, communities and society.
While the report does not always align with CEJA’s narrative, the dialogue and its outcomes contrast significantly with the atmosphere of the previous mandate and offer a solid basis for work for the next years. Europe’s young farmers will remain committed to holding the European Commission and participatory stakeholders accountable, and to sharing the benefits of dialogue with the vast diversity of actors making European agriculture a reality.

CEJA wants to thank all stakeholders involved in the strategic dialogue for their dedication and for the great cooperation.
 
Find more about the main outcomes from CEJA’s perspective in the annexe attached.