Whether it’s wheat or sunflower oil: the fear of a shortage of supplies from Ukraine is huge. EU agriculture ministers want to increase production in Europe in the future – even at the expense of the environment.
At stake is nothing less than a European Green Deal in agriculture – at least that is what is said in the Green Group in the European Parliament. The reason is concerns about the deteriorating food supply situation, especially for wheat, soybeans, and sunflower oil.
The point is that Ukraine is a major global exporter of these agricultural products. The war in this country causes not only destruction of crops and harvests in many places, but also transport routes: roads, ports, railroads. It is feared that this year’s harvest in Ukraine could be reduced by up to two-thirds.
Fear of global food shortages
This could result in food shortages. And not just in Ukraine itself: “We see that we are very dependent – and I think it would be good for Europe to start producing more on its own again. But this year will certainly be a very difficult year for agriculture and thus for the food supply in Europe.” – said Elisabeth Köstinger, Austrian Minister of Agriculture.
EU agriculture is primarily dependent on soybeans from the Ukraine, which are used here primarily for meat production and animal fattening. Wheat from Ukraine is supplied primarily to North Africa and Asian countries. The United Nations World Food Program fears famine there.
An increase in production in Europe is needed
This is why many EU agriculture ministers want to do everything possible to increase production in Europe. The European Commission proposes the use of fallow land or land that has so far been reserved for organic farming. Furthermore, an additional 1.5 billion Euro is planned to increase the cultivation of rapeseed and soybean in Europe.
Furthermore, the member states are to have the possibility to grant subsidies for fertilizers. Julien Denormandie, French agriculture minister, disagrees with accusations that such a move will destroy any sustainable and ecological approach to European agriculture: “We must now, at the same time, ensure our food supply, what we want to produce and are already producing – and at the same time our independence in terms of food production.” In his view, some member states feel this dependence exceptionally strongly.
The cost to the environment
Despite the difficult situation, the German government insists that it will continue its efforts aimed at greener agriculture. But at the moment this does not seem to be the most important goal for most of the 27 EU member states. What matters to many of them is being able to produce more food now – regardless of whether or not Europe faces a food shortage.
According to Danish Agriculture Minister Rasmus Prehn, war will not lead to such a situation in the European Union. Nevertheless, he expects prices to rise significantly.
Arguably, this is just the beginning of a discussion on food security and the consequences for agriculture in Europe. The German farmers’ association has already stated that there is no threat this year, but no one can predict what will happen in the coming years. And then everything can change.
Source: www.tagesschau.de