Speech by President von der Leyen at the EU Agri Food Days, via video message

Speech by President von der Leyen at the EU Agri Food Days

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to have the chance to address you today, at the first-ever EU Agri Food Days.

It is thanks to Europe's farmers and food industry that we have healthy and high-quality food – in our shops and markets, in our school cafeterias, and on our family tables.

It is also thanks to you that we have overcome these past years of trials.

Through a pandemic, an energy crisis and high inflation for both agricultural inputs and food, Europe's agri-food sector demonstrated remarkable resilience.

In fact, our agri-food exports increased by 16% in 2022. We are almost or completely self-sufficient on a wide-range of essential foods – from wheat and tomatoes to meat and dairy, contributing to our strategic resilience.

And at the same time, Europe's agri-food industry is making a tremendous effort to contribute to our collective green and digital transitions.

And together we are on the right path forward. We have agreed a strong 5-year support system in the form of the new Common Agricultural Policy. The most ambitious CAP from an environmental and climate perspective. Underpinned by more than 300 billion euros in funding.

All this is reason to be proud, and confident of Europe's agri-food sector's future.

But we also know: this sector – your sector – is confronted with a wide range of challenges. Farmers operate in a very competitive global market, and they are often the most vulnerable part of the value chain.

Farmers find it increasingly difficult to pass on their farms to the next generation. Farmers, large and small, worry every day about crop failures, animal disease outbreaks, or price shocks for fuel and fertilisers.

As a consequence of high inflation, too many European citizens find it difficult to put affordable food on their table.

And if this wasn't enough, the entire agri-food sector bears the brunt of the climate crisis. This year has broken all existing negative records, in terms of extreme temperatures, floods, storms, droughts, wildfires. But also, pest and disease outbreaks. Globally and here in Europe.

This year alone, Europe has provided exceptional support of over 500 million euros to farmers most affected by crises.

We all know: We need to adapt faster to protect our food production from a more unpredictable and volatile environment.

The good news is, we have solutions to do so.

First, there is an abundance of good practices and new technologies.

Many of you in this room are pioneering the fourth agricultural revolution. Based on state-of-the-art clean tech and resource efficiency. For example, farmers now have access to data from our Copernicus satellite system, which facilitates precision farming.

Thanks to EU funding, the number of broadband internet connections in rural areas has tripled. 5G will soon also be available in most rural areas, and this opens up completely new possibilities for the use of drones or autonomous machines.

And the approval of new genomic processes can lead to more resistant plant varieties and less use of pesticides.

And in the spring of next year, the Commission will put forward an initiative on EU biotech and biomanufacturing. A crucial industrial sector in the midst of the global technology race.

All these tech upgrades should aim to increase food production, increase circularity, and of course increase resource efficiency.

We need to empower all agri-food stakeholders to be an integral part of the solution – because you are!

We need to find ways, together, to scale these innovations across the entire agri-food value chain, leaving no-one behind. The effect is not only good for nature, but also for the farmers, and society at large.

But that's only half the opportunity, and this brings me to my second point:

Nature-based solutions, the other half of the next agricultural revolution.

And I am pleased to see, through the CAP Strategic Plans, that Member States and the farming community are living up to their climate and nature-related objectives.

Farmers are applying methods to promote biodiversity, and store carbon from the atmosphere. They improve soil management. They increase water resilience.

Farmers know nature better than anyone else. And thanks to the CAP they are already doing a lot to preserve it.

We will continue to support them in all possible ways. Together, we are planting the seeds for even more sustainable, resilient food production in the EU.

And above all, and that's my third point, we have to find a new consensus on the future of agriculture and our food system.

A future that safeguards income for farmers, while keeping rural areas vibrant, ensuring a stable food supply, and contributing to our climate objective. A future where farming and nature go hand in hand.

These are not opposing objectives.

We can overcome the polarization that characterizes discussions on, for instance, the use of pesticides or fertiliser. We should not ignore this polarization. We should address it.

Now is the time to come together – farmers and food entrepreneurs, scientists and technologists, retailers and consumers, environmental organizations, and animal rights groups.

That's why I announced a Strategic Dialogue in my State of the Union.

We are formally launching this dialogue in January. I will invite a group of stakeholders, building on the extraordinary diversity of the agri-sector itself. From the small traditional producers or organic food to the large wheat producers. From those who make our food to those who process it or bring it on the market.

I would like to discuss the issues I already mentioned:

How can we give our farmers, and the rural communities they live in, a better perspective, including a fair standard of living?

How can we support agriculture within the boundaries of our planet and its ecosystem?

How can we make better use of the immense opportunities offered by knowledge and technological innovation?

How can we promote a bright and thriving future for Europe's food system in a competitive world?

These are just some of the questions on which your contributions will be crucial.

So, I look forward to your expertise and insights, to make this Dialogue a success.

Until then, I wish you an excellent EU Agri Food Days. Thank you.

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