The new EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christoph Hansen met with leaders of the main European farmer and co-operataive organisations at a meeting in Brussels at the end of November before he officially took up his new position on December 1st. The former Luxembourg MEP addressed a meeting of the Copa and Cogeca Praesidia which was also attended by ICOS President Edward Carr and CEO TJ Flanagan.
Mr. Carr congratulated Mr. Hansen on his appointment. He said; “we had a very positive meeting with the new Commissioner, and he showed great interest and passion in supporting farmers and co-operatives over the next five years. He addressed many issues which we as farmers are concerned about and he said that he will make it his business to visit every member state in 2025. We look forward to welcoming him to Ireland to showcase our fantastic grassland based dairy farms and to show him the incredible work which farmers and co-ops are undertaking to improve water quality.”
Within days of officially taking up his new role, he promised to strengthen the position of farmers in the food supply chain. telling the ‘European Agri-Food Days’* meeting in Brussels on December 10th that now is the time to build policies to improve the lives of farmers & rural communities, listening to their needs, to innovate, encouraging dialogue & avoiding polarisation.
He reminded delegates that he has “a very personal connection to the sector,” having come from “a farm in the north of Luxembourg.” “I’m very dedicated to make a future living for our EU agriculture sector,” he said. “There is no better way to start my second week than here with you at the biggest event for agriculture & food in town, but also in Europe.”
Farming faced “structural challenges that demand attention,” he explained, pointing to the falling numbers of holdings, an aging farming population & gaps in economic performance compared with other sectors. It is “a risky & very stressful occupation,” but “at the same time where there are challenges, I believe there are also all the time opportunities.” “This is why we need a clear vision for a competitive, resilient & sustainable agriculture sector to halt or reverse challenges & unlock the sector’s potential to seize the opportunities that the future will bring,” he said.
Mr. Hansen has been tasked with publishing a “Vision for the future of Agriculture” within his first 100 days in office due to be unveiled on February 19th. “The ‘Vision’ will be a roadmap for the path ahead & the direction we should strive for. It will cover a broad set of strategic issues for agriculture & food & for the farming community,” he said, pointing to issues such as “the socio-economic situation of farmers, making the farming occupation attractive again, making value chains fairer, enhancing resilience of farmers, incentives for sustainable farming practises & identifying paths for alternative income generation, managing & reducing administrative burden…, something a lot of farmers & actors are complaining about.”
Other key elements he mentioned were “stimulating knowledge, innovation & investment, stimulating bioeconomy & circularity,” while “we need a competitive food supply chain & to stimulate sustainable food environments. All these aspects need to be addressed to pave the way to generational renewal because we need young farmers,” he pointed out. “We have to start from a very simple question – what does a young farmer need today? We risk losing next generations in agriculture & I want to make generational renewal a central tenet for the way ahead,” he stressed. “It has never been more critical than it is today because we barely have 12% of our EU farming community that is below the age of 40 with an average of 57 years & in that we only have 3% women.” It was “very important that we overcome these demographic challenges,” he added.
Hansen also stressed the need for rural communities to have access to “broadband internet if we want a future orientated agriculture.” “We need this technological progress & we need the same services that we often take for granted in the cities,” to be “accessible as well in our rural areas.”
During his keynote address at the EU Agri-Food Days in Brussels which is the big end of year gathering of agriculture and food stakeholders in Brussels including ICOS, Mr. Hansen highlighted the importance of “consumer recognition of what it takes to farm, but also fair compensation for high-quality, safe European products produced with care of resources. We need to promote this better,” he added, “because this positive image of our EU agriculture production & our food production is very important to promote. Consumers need to be aware what they are paying for & what they really want on their plates,” he said. “If we get this right & put the right conditions in place … farming will hopefully again be an attractive economic sector,” he added, but that was something which could not be achieved through top-down mandates.