Administration has become a political issue in agriculture

By: STA Date: 2024. 09. 24. 09:30

Administrative issues such as the amendment of strategic plans or the various annual performance reports and unit costs have such a direct impact on the lives of agricultural producers that they have essentially become a political issue, stated the Secretary of State for Agriculture and Rural Development of the Ministry of Agriculture (AM) in Brussels on Monday.

(Photo: AM)

Zsolt Feldman, at the Monday evening press conference following the meeting of the EU member states’ ministers dealing with agriculture and fisheries, said that the ministers discussed how the process of reducing administrative burdens can be filled with real content for the near future. As he said, the council meeting ended with an approach based on which the member states want to speed up the adoption and amendment of strategic plans and promote their more flexible management. In connection with the market situation of European agriculture, the state secretary said: based on the reports of the member states, the market situation is a degree more stable compared to a few months ago, however, the high level of input costs required for agricultural production significantly worsens the profitability of agricultural production. Natural disasters have an additional negative impact on the situation: the drought in the southeastern part of Europe, the excessive rainfall affecting grain production in the western part, and the current flood, he added.

Regarding international trade issues, according to Zsolt Feldman, at the council meeting, several member states expressed concern about the anti-dumping investigation on EU dairy products launched by China, and other countries about the free trade agreement between the European Union and Ukraine, since in this regard, the producers of several member states face more serious market with a challenge.

Speaking about the final report of the strategic dialogue on the future of agriculture in the European Union, he said: the ministers of the member states supported, for example, ideas that would put the producer at the center of value chains, balance agricultural incomes, and promote sustainability. However, they expressed concern that the Just Transition Fund, which is meant to facilitate the achievement of climate neutrality, would not be financed from the resources of the common agricultural policy. Zsolt Feldman drew attention to the fact that “the final report of the strategic dialogue is an important document, but the council conclusions drawn up by the community of member states, and hopefully supported, should provide the same, if not more important guidance to the work of the European Commission for the future of European agriculture. ”

MTI