Vision for Agriculture and Food

28/02/2025

At AGRIWELL, we are excited to see the European Commission unveil its new "Vision for Agriculture and Food" roadmap—an ambitious strategy that charts a promising future for farming and the agri-food sector across Europe. This comprehensive plan aims to build an attractive, competitive, resilient, and future-oriented agri-food system that benefits both current and future generations of farmers and agri-food operators.

The roadmap highlights four key priority areas:

An Attractive Sector

The vision emphasizes the need for a stable and appealing agricultural sector that attracts young talent. Fair income, targeted state support, and innovative business models—such as carbon and nature credits—are central to this goal. The Commission is committed to ensuring that farmers are not forced to sell their products below production costs. Concrete measures, including a review of the Unfair Trading Practices Directive and the upcoming Generation Renewal Strategy in 2025, will help eliminate barriers for young and new entrants into the profession.

Focus: Creating a stable and appealing agricultural sector that attracts young talent through fair incomes, targeted support, and innovative business models.
Related SDGs:

  • SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – Ensuring stable livelihoods and creating attractive career opportunities in agriculture.

  • SDG 2: Zero Hunger – Enhancing food production sustainability and supporting local food systems.

A Future-Oriented Sector

European agriculture plays a pivotal role in the transition to a low-carbon economy. The Commission’s vision underscores the need to align climate action with food security and the sector’s specific challenges. Farmers should be rewarded for adopting nature-friendly practices. The Commission plans to consider any further pesticide bans carefully and simplify access to biopesticides in the EU market. A voluntary benchmarking system—a “farm sustainability compass”—will be developed to help farmers measure and improve their performance. Additionally, a water sustainability strategy is in the works to address the urgent need for more efficient water use.

Focus: Driving the transition to a low-carbon economy by rewarding nature-friendly practices, simplifying access to innovative solutions like biopesticides, and improving water sustainability.
Related SDGs:

  • SDG 13: Climate Action – Supporting efforts to mitigate climate change through sustainable agricultural practices.

  • SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation – Enhancing water use efficiency and promoting water sustainability on farms.

A Competitive and Sustainable Sector

Ensuring food security and sovereignty remains a top priority for the EU. The roadmap calls for robust trade negotiations and agreements to safeguard European farmers' interests, while also addressing the call for comparable production standards for imported products. This is essential to prevent competitive disadvantages due to the EU's ambitious standards. Additionally, strict monitoring and enforcement of food safety standards will continue to be a non-negotiable priority, with a renewed focus on livestock production to secure the sector’s long-term future.

Focus: Strengthening food security and sovereignty by ensuring comparable production standards, strict food safety, and sustainable livestock production.
Related SDGs:

  • SDG 2: Zero Hunger – Securing food production and availability.

  • SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – Promoting sustainable practices and ensuring high standards in the production process.

Fair Living and Working Conditions

The updated Rural Action Plan aims to keep rural areas vibrant, functional, and closely connected to Europe’s cultural and natural heritage. The roadmap also envisions an annual food dialogue involving consumers, farmers, industry representatives, and public authorities to address issues like food accessibility, innovation, and waste reduction, as well as animal welfare.

Focus: Ensuring that rural areas remain vibrant and functional while preserving cultural and natural heritage, and fostering an inclusive dialogue among all stakeholders in the food system.
Related SDGs:

  • SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – Although traditionally urban-focused, this goal also applies to strengthening rural communities by improving infrastructure and quality of life.

  • SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – Ensuring fair opportunities and reducing disparities in rural regions.

Looking ahead, the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), as part of the upcoming Multiannual Financial Framework proposal, will be simpler and more targeted. Support will be directed towards farmers actively engaged in food production, with a particular focus on young farmers and those in areas with natural constraints. The emphasis will shift towards incentives rather than strict conditions.

At AGRIWELL, we welcome this forward-thinking initiative. We believe that by fostering a more attractive, competitive, sustainable, and fair agri-food system, Europe can ensure the prosperity of both today's and tomorrow's generations. We are proud to be part of a community that is actively working towards these goals and look forward to contributing to the transformation of the agricultural sector in Europe.