Farmers in the European Union should be at the “core” of the agricultural economy, according to European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA) president, Diana Lenzi.
Lenzi addressed the EU agriculture ministers at the recent informal meeting of agriculture and fisheries in Stockholm, Sweden.
The theme of the meeting was the ‘potential of agriculture to contribute to the green transition’.
Lenzi focused on promoting ‘bioeconomy’, speaking about its importance as a long step that could make agriculture “a more resilient and resource efficient ecosystem”.
Bioeconomy
The European Commission defines bioeconomy as using renewable biological resources from land and sea, like crops, forests and micro-organisms to produce materials.
“Bioeconomy can allow us to diversify our activity, combining different production systems, like for example food and energy, and therefore creating additional income streams,” Lenzi said.
She explained that solar panels on the farm can allow a reduction of energy consumption, while physically protecting crops from “extreme irradiation and solar stress”.
“This can contribute to the environmental but also economic sustainability of farms, too often overlooked as an issue, making them more viable and resilient and ultimately benefitting our livelihoods.
“But it will only work if all markets, food and energy alike, are able to deliver a fairer share of the value that gives more return to the farmers,” Lenzi said.
Strong EU position
Lenzi told EU ministers that not everybody in rural areas are farmers, but that they can still benefit from advances made in the farming sector.
She said that new bioeconomy projects can attract new professions and sectors to the area.
“What we need right now, is a strong EU position. Not just a political will, but also a strong willingness to turn our most concerning challenges for this century into reachable, actionable opportunities to do better.
“For this generation and the next ones,” Lenzi added.