The Commission briefed the member states at last Council meeting on Agriculture and Fisheries (held in Brussels on 16 and 17 December 2013) on its proposal for a regulation on information provision and promotion measures for agricultural products on the internal market and in third countries (16591/13). Member states generally welcomed the proposal and took note of its ambition to better valorise the EU agri-food industry. However many of them expressed concerns about the suppression of the possibility to provide a national cofinancing support of the promotion measures.
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As part of the decentralisation of the Brussels Development Briefings and support to most vulnerable countries, the 4th national Briefing on ‘Farmer-driven research to improve food and nutrition security in Haiti’ was held on Wednesday, 11th December 2013, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. More than 250 participants attended this event. The national briefings integrate the topics of the Brussels Briefings, which are of interest for Haiti. They look at a particular topic through the lens of a national case, and raise awareness on topical issues related to agriculture in Haiti.
The Bali Ministerial Conference of the (World Trade Organization) concluded a day later than scheduled on 7 December 2013 with agreement on a package of issues designed to streamline trade, allow developing countries more options for providing food security, boost least developed countries’ trade and help development more generally. In addition to the Bali Package, ministers formally adopted a number of more routine decisions at the end of a five-day meeting opened by Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, which also saw Yemen accepted as a new member.
The European Commission proposed on Wednesday 6 November that governments approve genetically modified crops for cultivation in Europe, for use in food and feed as well as for import. The proposal covers an insect-resistant maize developed jointly by DuPont and Dow Chemical which, if approved, would end Monsanto's current monopoly in Europe's tiny market for GMO crops. The Commission said it was "duty bound" to make the proposal after Europe's second-highest court in September censured the EU executive for lengthy delays in the approval process, first launched back in 2001.
A group of 23 countries* attacked the European Commission (EC) in an expert meeting, on 11 November, accusing it of ignoring the agreement on reforming the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) when drafting rules to implement the new measures. The member states have bandied together to try to make EFAs – Ecological Focus Areas – less ecologically focused. France, Spain, Poland and Italy were among those countries that backed the joint note to the Commission appealing it to “urgently correct” inconsistencies between the draft rules and the terms of the CAP agreement.
The organic sector in the European Union (EU) has been rapidly developing during the past years, the report "Facts and Figures on Organic Farming" issued today by the European Commission (EC) points out. The report gives an overview of organic agriculture in Europe based on the data available and its evolution over recent years. It shows in particular that organic holdings are overall bigger than conventional farms in the EU and their managers are younger.
The 1st African Continental Briefing on “Envisioning the future of African agriculture and the renewed role of farmer’s organizations” which will take place in Yaoundé, Cameroon, from 3-5th December 2013, will look at the policy issues from a farmer centred perspective. You can download the detailed program of the event, as well as a brief research note on the topic here. Most of the resources and expertise are African-based as to create links between farmers, researchers and policy-makers. The Continental Briefing will be held annually.
To improve information sharing and promote networking, the ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) in collaboration with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Pan-African Farmers’ Orgnaization (PAFO) organised a high-level panel in Brussels on Tuesday 26 November 2013, in the context of the European Development Days. The panelists discussed shared lessons and gave their perspectives on the matter. More than 200 people attended the panel, and various participants have had the opportunity to raise their questions and share their experiences. The panel has been web-casted and the video can be downloaded here.
The European Commission (EC) has released the October 2013 edition of ”Comodity price data”, a price dashboard which provides a summary of commodity price data for the most representative agricultural products and consumer food prices, at European Union (EU) and world level for the month of August. Although not all the products are comparable at both EU and world level, this document is intended to give an indication on the most recent price developments. Databases with the EU market prices for the most representative products are also available.