Prague – The vision for agriculture and food, presented today by the European Commission, does not bring the necessary reforms according to the president of the Czech Confederation of Commerce and Tourism Tomáš Prouza. The strategic document was described by Prouza as a missed opportunity to implement long-delayed changes that would strengthen the sector’s resilience. He stated this in a press release available to CTK. In contrast, the Minister of Agriculture Marek Výborný (KDU-ČSL) called the vision “a solid basis for necessary changes” on network X. Farmers appreciated some key areas mentioned in the document. According to the EU, the material is a response to last year’s farmers’ protests. The basis should be less bureaucracy, fewer regulations, simplification, and support for innovation and digitalization.
“Instead of a truly reformative material, we have a document on the table that might calm some protesting farmers but does not solve the problems affecting citizens,” pointed out Prouza. He is concerned that the material does not address agricultural issues in their entirety, from the processing of agricultural products to the production of food, their sale, and consumption. According to him, there is also a lack of greater emphasis on strengthening the single European market. “In the material, we see only further raising of barriers,” added Prouza.
The European Union, for example, plans to restrict the import of agricultural products that do not meet the same environmental standards as those originating from the EU. According to the European Commissioner for Agriculture Christoph Hansen, it is necessary to create fair conditions for farmers. “Simplify conditions, require the same rules as in the EU for imports from third countries, attract a younger generation to agriculture – we all agree on this,” wrote Výborný today.
According to the Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic, it is good news that the document considers agriculture a strategic sector and focuses on competitiveness or food sovereignty. “However, Europe must accelerate its response to the challenges that farmers face, whether it’s climate change or cost increases that farmers cannot translate into food prices,” warned the chamber’s president Jan Doležal.
According to Prouza, the commission ignores the need for substantial investments in food production and trade to reduce energy demands, emission footprints, and digitalization. According to Prouza, it is also essential to link subsidies with clear objectives, for instance, to avoid repeating situations where subsidies are meant to improve animal welfare, but the state does not evaluate their benefits. The Czech Food Chamber also has reservations about the vision, lacking a greater focus on the food industry considering that more than 70 percent of agricultural products, according to the chamber, are further processed in food enterprises. (February 19)
