European Agricultural policy

It is widely known that energy companies have been making enormous profits since the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. Over recent months, however, there has also been much evidence of crisis profiteers in the agri-food sector, as food prices in many countries are still rising steeply. High food prices are directly contributing to a rise in poverty and food insecurity.

The 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biodiversity took place in Montreal from the 7th to the 19th of December, 2022. The results were mixed. This article analyses the good, the bad, the ugly, as well as the way forward from CBD COP15.

With the future of biodiversity on the line, UN member states meeting in Montreal this December must set a framework for a new conservation paradigm.

Parts of global crop production are lost to pests and plant pathogens each year. Pesticides have been designed to prevent these yield losses – but they also give rise to new problems.

Even though we chiefly associate Microsoft, Google, Amazon or Facebook with the content that appears across most screens every single day, the very same tech giants will soon indirectly appear… on our plates. While doing so, they will also strengthen the agro-food sector that has long needed a fundamental makeover.

The pandemic, an increase in energy prices, a 400% rise in the price of artificial fertilisers, and then the war in Ukraine – in the face of these events, questions about the future of farming in Poland and the EU are most definitely justified. Will this future see agriculture’s continued dependence on importing fertilisers and the gas necessary to produce them? It’s high time that we began to consider public support for moving away from mineral fertilisers. The viability of this move is obvious when we appreciate that food security depends on protecting natural resources and a stable climate.  

On 31 March 2022, the 19 EU Member States that submitted their CAP Strategic Plans (CSPs) by the 1 January 2022 deadline received their awaited Observation Letters. In this article we discuss the implications of the European Commission backtracking on a transparent process and explore the content of Observation Letters that have been partially released.

One of the key demands of Fridays for Future, the youth climate movement, is “Listen to science!” In the age of Covid-19, governments frequently consult scientists and adapt policies to their advice. Scientists have also been stressing for over a decade that a climate- and biodiversity-friendly diet contains less than half the amount of meat consumed in industrialized countries today.

As the negotiations start to come to a close, this article focuses on the remaining fair and green considerations. We shed light on the state of play in the CAP post 2022 inter-institutional negotiations, particularly in relation to those articles of the CAP Strategic Plan Regulation which are still open to political and technical discussions. So what’s the deal?

The Polish Government plans for a new Common Agriculture Policy seeks a compromise between the supporters of the intensification of agricultural production in the name of the paradigm of economic competitiveness, and the voices demanding that it reflects newer, environmental realities.