The EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, highlighted the promotion of organic farming as a key aim for the new European Commission in his inaugural speech yesterday (10 December).
Access to land for young farmers and a focus on transport issues were other highlights of the Commissioner’s speech at the EU Agricultural Outlook conference on [Dec. 10].
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Wojciechowski highlighted a particular focus on supporting organic practices, saying that he wants to decrease intensive farming, including a reduction in the intensive use of pesticides and fertilizers. He said that this involves the creation of an appropriate “offensive” action plan, which will be implemented within the next year.
He added that this will involve a contribution to the EU “Farm to Fork strategy”, looking at how organic production can help the agri-food sector improve its sustainability across the agri-food supply chain.
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According to Wojciechowski, there are more than 12 million hectares of organic production in the EU across 200,000 farms, but the production and uptake of organic food differ considerably between member states ….
He highlighted that organic agriculture is currently “difficult to obtain” for many people and that price is often a considerable constraint for consumers.
Read full, original article: EU’s new agriculture Commissioner vows to promote organic farming
