New CAP should stimulate productivity of EU agriculture, FEFAC says

FEFAC, representing the EU compound feed and premix industry, welcomes the new Commission’s legislative proposals on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) with high expectations

October 13, 2011

FEFAC, representing the EU compound feed and premix industry, welcomes the new Commission’s legislative proposals on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) with high expectations.

FEFAC President Patrick Vanden Avenne referred to the EU’s responsibility to respond to the global challenge for feed and food production: “the global demand for food products will continue to grow while agriculture faces an unprecedented level of market price volatility and increasing demands for the sustainable use of natural resources. FEFAC members have agreed to take up the challenge of sustainable and competitive feed production hoping the new CAP will provide the necessary institutional framework to support cooperation between public and private sector initiatives to meet its objectives”.

The loss of competitiveness in the EU livestock sector led to a prolonged crisis for different animal production sectors across Europe. For FEFAC, the EU feed and livestock sector needs to increase its productivity to be able to achieve its full potential on the EU and global market. The new CAP should, therefore, stimulate research and innovation in order to accelerate the modernization of EU agriculture, whose technology base is aging fast. The feed industry and livestock sector stakeholders are committed to promoting the most efficient and sustainable use of the available resources. As acknowledged during the public consultation, the new CAP should be active in the area of market stabilization, as a preliminary step to allow investment in the agricultural sector.

FEFAC sees the current action plan of G20 Farm Ministers on food price volatility as a great opportunity for the EU Council and the European Parliament to “raise the game” for EU Agriculture by unlocking its considerable production potential while providing the means to tackle price volatility. This is the key message on CAP reform which FEFAC will also deliver on the occasion of the G20 seminar ‘Re-energizing Global Agricultural Productivity’ to be held in Brussels on 13th of October 2011.