Inflation and the war in Ukraine serve as a useful opportunity for the agricultural lobby to undermine the unloved greening of agricultural policy. New target: pesticides.
From farm to table: Under this rustic motto, two years ago, the European Commission set ambitious targets for regionalization and greater climate compatibility in agriculture in Europe. To some extent, the Commission is trying with this strategy, which is called “Farm to Fork” in English, to at least partially offset the proposals for greening the common agricultural policy, which the Member States had weakened the year before. 20% less use of chemically produced fertilizers by 2030, 50% less soil depletion due to over-cultivation – and 50% less pesticide use, also by the end of this decade.
However, the inexorable rise in inflation since last year and the threat of food shortages due to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine make the implementation of the “farm to table” strategy increasingly precarious. Because at the moment it is just that: a strategy document in which the Commission lists the directives and regulations that it intends to propose to achieve the objectives. These must be decided by the Member States together with the European Parliament. And in these two chambers of European legislation, representatives of the agricultural economy are gaining traction against the current global political landscape.