European agriculture ministers in the European Union (EU) were discussing on Monday in Brussels ways to cushion the impact of the Ukrainian conflict and boost production in the EU, in order to avoid food shortages in various regions of the world.
Russia and Ukraine are two major exporters of cereals (particularly for animal feed) and fertilizers, and so the EU is now concentrating on measures to address the new scenario arising from the Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory.
Thus, the European Commission must present to the bloc ministers its suggestions to help farmers absorb the high cost of fuel, animal feed and fertilizer, French agriculture minister Julien Denormandie said Monday in Brussels.
Upon arriving at the venue of a meeting with his European counterparts, Denormandie said it was necessary to bear in mind that the war in Ukraine could cause “a food crisis on a global scale.”
“It is necessary to compensate for the loss of Ukrainian crops. The Commission's proposal would make it possible to temporarily recover the crop of 4 million hectares in the EU,” said Austrian Energy Minister Elisabeth Kostinger.
Official Kostinger said that “in the coming months of the year, and beyond, we must assume that there will be a shortage of cereals, which are very important for food aid worldwide”.
In addition, the Commission proposes to use a “crisis reserve”, a 450 million euro fund aimed at helping farmers in the event of price instability, and will present “a framework agreement that will also make additional aid possible” by the bloc states, Denormandie said.
Some of the States also question the European strategy called “From farm to table”, which aims, by 2030, to halve the use of pesticides, by 20% that of fertilizers, and dedicate a quarter of the land to organic farming.
Several studies under analysis at EU level point out that the application of these regulations will cause a significant drop in production.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warned last week that in the face of this new scenario international grain and fertilizer prices could soar by between 8% and 22%.
High oil prices will only exacerbate the problem, and vulnerable countries will be the hardest hit, FAO warned.
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