Agriculture Ministers Meeting in Prague – Main results – 16 September 2022

Food security and the role of European agriculture and food in sustainable global food production were the main topics of today’s informal meeting of EU Agriculture Ministers in Prague.

Ministers agreed that the EU must now act in a coordinated way to maximise sustainable increases in agricultural production and accelerate the use of modern techniques in agriculture. The meeting was chaired by Czech Agriculture Minister Zdeněk Nekula and attended by Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski, representatives of NGOs, the European Parliament, academics and the Ministers of Agriculture of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the lingering effects of the pandemic and advancing climate change are having a major impact on global food security and world food prices. Agriculture ministers mainly discussed how to ensure sufficient food production and distribution to the most vulnerable countries, while ensuring sustainability. One of the main solutions is to use innovation, research and modern technologies, including precision farming, to further reduce pesticide and fertiliser consumption while maintaining the necessary productivity.

Key policy objectives of the new CAP

 

Science and innovation

Science, innovation and modern plant breeding methods in agriculture were among the main topics of the meeting. It included contributions by Czech experts Professor Miroslav Trnka and Roman Hobza, Ph.D. Both said that new trends can help the EU in reducing the use of pesticides and fertilisers, in water management or in breeding new varieties more resistant to extreme weather fluctuations and new plant pests and diseases. The Ministers agreed that the EU must react as quickly as possible to the development of modern trends and not hinder innovation. It is therefore important to change the outdated legislative framework by which the EU regulates the use of modern plant breeding methods. This framework not only restricts European farmers, but also leads to an outflow of top experts to countries outside the European Union, so the damage is extraordinary.

Situation in Ukraine, commodity exports

In the context of food security and food distribution, Mykola Solskyi, Minister of Agriculture of Ukraine, summarised the current challenges Ukraine is facing in this area He also stressed the importance of the solidarity lanes facilitated by the EU and asked for their further extension. Due to the occupation of several Ukrainian ports by Russian troops, grain from Ukraine has to come also through other routes.

Commission helps resume trade in European pork and poultry to the Republic of Korea

 

EU measures, context

To ensure food security in the context of the war in Ukraine, the EU has drawn up an action plan in record time, the Solidarity Lanes, to facilitate the export of Ukrainian commodities by land and inland waterways. Furthermore, the abolition of customs duties on imports of Ukrainian products into the EU is helping in this situation, so that goods can travel more easily to countries in Africa, for example. In addition to the emergency aid to the most vulnerable sectors, the use of as much agricultural land as possible for food production and the exemption from crop rotation for next year should also help European farmers. The EU is also providing financial support to the countries most at risk at this time.

In 2021, up to 828 million people were affected by hunger. As the world’s population continues to grow, many more efforts are needed to sustainably increase agricultural production and reduce food waste. In 2020, the world produced about 4 billion tonnes of food, but about 1.3 billion tonnes were wasted.

Today’s meeting of the Ministers of Agriculture concluded a three-day programme in the Czech Republic. In addition to Prague, they visited several farms to learn about agricultural production in the Czech Republic. The informal ministerial meeting is organised by each Presidency in its country and is a discussion on a selected topic that serves as a basis for further decision-making.

More information: Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union