Over the last years, CEJA has been involved in the discussions surrounding the Directive based on the idea that a solid monitoring framework can create additional transparency for young farmers on land resources in their respective regions and give a more concrete direction to the investments they make in terms of soil health. The framework can also support the identification of knowledge gaps and enabling tools missing on the ground.
However, the challenge of land take and its mitigation remain unaddressed, as highlighted by CEJA’s President Peter Meedendorp: “Despite the strong consensus expressed by the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Agriculture last year, there is still no collective realisation that the loss of agricultural and natural land is a threat to our EU objectives, be soil health, food security or generational renewal. The downgrading of Article 11, which was dedicated to land take mitigation, sends the wrong signal to our community of young farmers. Our message is clear: we need Member States to step up their action on this matter and to understand the interest in monitoring land take at EU level more seriously.”
As highlighted in CEJA’s campaign ‘Land Stories’ in June 2023, the rapid pace of land artificialisation threatens the long-term viability of soils and farms by reducing available agricultural land, degrading soil quality, fragmenting land, compromising ecosystem services, and increasing resource competition. These factors collectively undermine the resilience and sustainability of agricultural systems and pose significant challenges for farmers in the future.
In line with this, Europe’s young farmers remain committed to the objective and propose that the mitigation of land take is addressed at the upcoming EU Land Observatory, a pilot project announced in the Vision for the Future of Agriculture and Food.
Find more information about land take in CEJA’s dedicated brief.
