Global insight: Will the EU’s Farm-to-Fork Strategy help the region meet climate targets?

The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is essentially a system of agricultural subsidies and other support programmes that have propped up the EU rural economy for decades. Despite being controversial, it has been instrumental in shaping the global food system for over six decades.

The controversy dates back decades. Apart from external criticism that the CAP provided trade-distorting subsidies that disproportionately benefitted EU farmers, there were concerns within the EU about how costly the support programmes were. CAP reform therefore initially centered on reducing its cost, which accounted for as much as 73% of the European Commission’s budget in 1985.

Over time, the CAP remained a significant cost, but its share of the EU budget was reduced to around 37% by 2017. By then, most of the CAP reform had simultaneously transitioned its trade-distorting support programmes to comply with World Trade Organization rules, mainly through supporting rural development.

However, concerns about the CAP’s impact on environmental and humanitarian issues remained. A prevailing sentiment pointed to the food system being a major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while accelerating environmental degradation through excessive use of fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides, which were linked to climate change, water pollution, and a loss in biodiversity respectively.

RESETTING THE FOOD SYSTEM

Under the new CAP (2021 to 2027), the EU aims to avert these negative impacts and reset the food system by striving for the broader ambitious goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050. Generally, the EU recognises agriculture as one of the key sectors that can reduce GHG emissions, with the sector having contributed to a 20% reduction in GHG emissions since 1990.

In its 2030 climate target plan, the EU said it wanted GHG emissions to be 55% lower than 1990 levels.

To this end, the EU has crafted the Farm-to-Fork Strategy, a new approach that ensures that agriculture, fisheries and the entire food system contribute to achieving this target.

The Farm-to-Fork Strategy was launched in 2020 at the core of a broader initiative called the European Green Deal, whose aim is to reduce the environmental and carbon footprint of food production and consumption.

The strategy lists 27 actions covering food production, processing, retailing and waste. But these are not expected to be implemented until 2022, in order to give regulators and foodsystem players time to transition to the new policy regime.

The strategy has four pillars:

• Consumer demand

This focuses on nutrient labels and the creation of a sustainable labelling framework that covers nutrition, climate, environment and social aspects of food products. The labelling requirements are envisaged to empower consumers to make choices concerning health and sustainability.

• Food production

This component sets out the fundamentals for sustainable production by defining targets that reduce the use of fertilisers and pesticides, and the revision of legislation on feed additives and animal welfare.

• Industry behaviour

Concrete commitments are being sought from agribusinesses and other food-system players concerning health and sustainability.

So, the EU is developing a code of conduct for the development of business and marketing practices, and requires agribusinesses to integrate sustainability into their corporate strategies.

• Trade policy

The EU is seeking commitment from non-EU countries on the use of pesticides, animal welfare, and the fight against microbial resistance.

AFRICA WILL HAVE TO ADAPT

The EU is one of Africa’s largest export markets, with Africa’s agricultural exports to the region averaging US$343 billion (about R4,73 trillion) per annum. Over the years, African agribusinesses have had to conform to stringent EU standards, as well as an ever-increasing set of private standards related to traceability, authenticity, exposure to allergens, good farming practice, child labour, sustainable farming practices, and various kinds of certification (such as HACCP, kosher and halal).

Adding carbon credits and taxes as well as trademarks associated with adhering to Farm-to-Fork Strategy provisions to enable market access into the EU market will significantly increase production costs and reduce competitiveness of African smallholder farmers. However, it will be critical for the continent to manage these new provisions proactively in order to gain first-mover advantage.

Dr Tinashe Kapuya is head of the value chain analytics division at the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy. Email him at tinashe@bfap.co.za.

THE STRATEGY IS PART OF THE EU’S AMBITIOUS GOAL OF BECOMING CARBONNEUTRAL BY 2050