Wageningen University and Research study shows that innovation is needed to mitigate unintended consequences of the Farm to Fork Strategy

A regulatory framework that supports innovation in agriculture will help deliver the green and digital transformations in Europe.

Wageningen University and Research (Wageningen, NL) has today published the full report of its Impact Assessment of EC 2030 Green Deal Targets for Sustainable Crop Production , including specific country-level crop data in key EU agricultural producing countries.

The findings of the study show that, to help reduce and overcome negative impacts of the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategy targets, farmers need to have better access to the latest agriculture technologies. EU farmers need a toolbox of solutions to sustainably protect crops, the environment, and their livelihoods. CropLife Europe fully supports the study’s key recommendation to have innovation promoted and to create pathways to give EU farmers accelerated access to innovative tools such as digital and precision technologies, innovative pesticides and biopesticides as well as new genomic techniques. This will mitigate the unintended negative effects of the Farm to Fork Strategy.

CropLife Europe Director General, Olivier de Matos, said: “The agricultural sector recognises the urgency of addressing the climate crisis and accelerating sustainability in food production. Our industry has a long track record of change and innovation – it is fully willing and able to be part of the solution in this necessary transformation. The key conclusions of the study carried out by Wageningen University and Research highlight the challenges that EU farmers will face in light of the European Commission’s current proposals.

“We need a regulatory framework that supports innovation in agriculture so that EU farmers can deliver on the objectives of the green and digital transformations in Europe. We hope that, in view of the proposed 2030 targets, the European Commission will recognise the need to create more timely authorisation processes for new solutions to be put on the market, as well as provide better financial support and incentives for farmers to have access to sustainable tools to protect their crops.”

O artigo foi publicado originalmente em FitoSíntese.