An informal meeting of EU Agriculture Ministers will take place in Bratislava on Tuesday, 13^th September. EU Farm Ministers will discuss the food supply chain, and ways to strengthen the position of the primary producer. Meanwhile, the Agricultural Markets Task Force will meet with National Experts from Member States on 16^th September. The Task Force was set up by Commissioner Hogan in January this year, and is due to report later this autumn. It is Chaired by Cees P Veerman, a former Dutch Minister of Agriculture. Overall, the mandate for the Task Force is to recommend measures with a view to improving the position of farmers in the food chain, such as market transparency, access for farmers to financial instruments and futures markets to hedge price risks, options for arranging contractual relations within the chain and legal possibilities for organising farmers’ collective actions.

 By Eamonn Farrell

Agri-Food Policy Executive