EU must protect beleaguered local farmers

In a rare glimmer of hope for European farmers grappling with historic droughts, productivity dips and asphyxiating green targets, Germany’s coalition parties have just moved closer to a compromise on the Green’s animal welfare levy to improve livestock husbandry conditions. While initially opposed, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) has expressed a tentative change of heart on the condition that this policy addresses its competition concerns for German farmers.

Essentially, the FDP argues that by raising the cost of their products, the levy, in its current form, would put livestock farmers at a competitive disadvantage, compounding existing hindrances created by Germany’s relatively strict regulations. In exchange for its green light, the FDP wants a moratorium on additional anti-competition requirements as well as levy funds primarily devoted to farmers’ compensation for additional animal welfare costs.

As with burdensome German regulations, planned EU agricultural policies threaten to have the same harmful effect on farmers on a continental scale, so policymakers must urgently find a balance between farmers’ competitivity, food security and sustainable food transition.

Farmers hurting

Unfortunately, Europe is nowhere near this equilibrium, a harsh reality exposed by the farmers’ protests that erupted in the Netherlands in June and have since spread across the continent. The targets that the Dutch Government’s climate change plan imposes on local farmers to control livestock emissions would effectively put many of them out of business, adding to the threat posed by the EU’s “Farm to Fork” strategy.

Farm to Fark – which includes animal welfare as a key part of its broader aim to build a healthier and more sustainable EU food system – is another well-intentioned but ultimately misguided policy that, if implemented as is, would deal a devastating blow to local agricultural producers.

A particularly damaging objective of Farm to Fork is the 20% cut in fertiliser usage by 2030, which would exacerbate the fertiliser shortages and inflation created by the war in Ukraine, increasing both farmer and consumer costs and threatening yields at time of global food insecurity. To understand the potential risk, we need look no further than Sri Lanka’s disastrous fertiliser ban, which resulted in the destruction of half of its rice crop and plunged the country into crisis.

Nutri-Score adding to agricultural sector woes

As part of Farm to Fork, the European Commission is also set to make a final decision on a bloc-wide Front-of-Package (FOP) labelling system, intended to provide food shoppers nutritional value information, by the end of 2022. But the front-runner presents more obstacles for struggling local producers.

Nutri-Score’s A-to-E, green-to-red grading system uses a skewed algorithm to grade products based on the sugar, sodium and fats content of an arbitrary 100g or ml serving, overlooking how products consumed in moderation fit into a healthy, balanced diet. This is how European staples such as Spanish olive oil, France’s Roquefort cheese and Italy’s parma ham receive poor Nutri-Scores – putting local producers at a significant disadvantage – while ultra-processed food like Nestle’s Nesquik cereal score well.

The Italian Competition Authority thus recently banned Nutri-Score label in Italy’s supermarkets, in line with its July ruling that the label misleads consumers into believing that high-scoring products can be consumed healthily in large quantities.

Droughts pushing farmers to the cliff’s edge

In addition to ill-conceived government policy, European farmers are now caught in the midst of a record-setting drought that is set to significantly slash crop yields. The EU has projected an 8 to 9% dip in maize, sunflower and soya bean yields, and a year-on-year drop of 12.5 million tons is expected for the bloc’s corn production. Other key staple crops are also in trouble, with German farmers predicting a roughly 10% drop in wheat yields and Italian farmers expecting a 30% cut in rice production.

This not only threatens future food security and inflation, but also the livelihood of livestock farmers, considering that most of the crops grown on the continent are used to feed animals, particularly corn. Even cheese and other dairy products are being effected, with France’s salers cheese production halted due to the extremely dry state of the pastures that its cows use for grazing, adding to local dairy farmers’ difficulties with fuel and food prices.

Weathering the storm

Farmers clearly need support to boost their resilience to external shocks, like war and climate change-induced drought, as well as to unlock their potential to drive Europe’s green transition. While this transition is essential, the prescription from Brussels and national policymakers must be to invest in farming innovation instead of bludgeoning farmers with unfeasible targets.

Given that droughts will likely become more common, investing in low-input, drought-tolerant crops is one compelling way forward. A French farmer has already begun growing sorghum, a cereal common in certain parts of the world, that requires little-to-no irrigation, no pesticides and only a third of fertiliser used for wheat. Drought-tolerant maize, cowpeas and rice has also been produced, which boosts yields as crops grow even without rain.

Investing in precision-farming is another crucial avenue for developing a sustainable food system. This innovative practice uses advanced digital technologies – including drones, ground sensors and satellites – to optimise crop and soil management, allowing farmers to boost yields while reducing inputs like water and fertilizer.

Facing an uncertain future, European farmers need support and stability from policymakers, not additional burdens. While environmental concerns must be addressed, the EU and national governments must adopt a balanced approach that avoids unfairly harming the farming industry. As decisions are made to transform European agriculture, governments would do well to take inspiration from Germany’s encouraging spirit of compromise with its animal welfare levy and ensure that farmers are fairly compensated for their sacrifices.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes