Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-01-17-Speech-1-232-000"
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"en.20110117.21.1-232-000"2
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"Mr President, it is an honour for me to present my report to you, which deals with the strategic importance of agriculture in ensuring the European Union’s food security. Agriculture is a neglected topic in the discussions about the European Union’s strategy and future. This report will show that Europe has not achieved food security, that farmers and whole rural areas are in danger of disappearing, and that new challenges, such as climate change, are likely to destabilise already dwindling food stocks, not only in Europe, but also worldwide.
Against a background where food production needs to increase by a minimum of 70% by 2050 in order to meet the world population’s food demands, food security must be the topic at the heart of the debates conducted at both global and European level. The European Union must respond robustly to these challenges and this report is our attempt to propose today a number of specific courses of action.
First of all, we need a strong common agricultural policy aimed at guaranteeing food security for as many EU citizens as possible and also at helping ensure global food security in the context of limited resources and the impact from climate change. We cannot talk about food security if we do not tackle two crucial issues, specifically: market and price volatility and dwindling global food stocks.
On the subject of price volatility, I have called on the Commission, as part of the new CAP, to enhance the role of market intervention instruments and adopt more consistent measures for restricting speculation on agricultural markets. Global food stocks are much more restricted nowadays than in the past. According to estimates, they can cover the world’s food requirements for just a month and a half. This is why I thought that the creation of a global food stock system would be beneficial, comprising both emergency stocks to reduce hunger and stocks to be used to regulate prices on agricultural markets, which comes under the international aegis and is supported by the expertise of existing institutions such as the UN or FAO. I believe that the European Union must initiate this action, which is why I have asked the Commission to take on this role.
Another important issue touched on in this report is the situation of young farmers. If we are reflecting on the future of European agriculture, we must focus more attention on young farmers. Just 7% of farmers across Europe are under the age of 35. This is why I have asked the Commission for measures to be provided to encourage them.
On the other hand, I have stressed the need to preserve European agriculture’s diversity. In this regard, I mentioned that traditional agricultural practices, family farming, small-scale farms and organic farming can make a valuable contribution to food security. I also called for the development of EU-level programmes to support these forms of agriculture. However, we must not forget that poverty and hunger persist in the European Union and that millions of Europeans have requested food aid from the EU this winter. Consequently, in the current economic crisis, it is of paramount importance to use EU funding to maintain the EU’s ‘Food Aid for the Most Deprived Persons’ programme.
Finally, I would like to thank the shadow rapporteurs and my other colleagues from the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development for their good cooperation and the contributions they made to the drafting of this report, as well as the Secretariat of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. I hope that tomorrow, we will adopt together a report which meets European citizens’ expectations."@en1
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