According to the agricultural representatives, a current impact assessment by the EU Science Service has shown a threat to European agriculture, in particular to Austrian, small-scale family businesses.
The impact assessment examines the possible effects of the “farm to fork” and biodiversity strategies on the European agricultural sector. If the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) from 2014 to 2020 is continued and the planned eco-strategies are implemented, there could be a sharp fall in cultivation in European agriculture and a rise in agricultural prices. In the simulation, a production decrease of 15 percent for grain and oilseeds or beef and pork and of 10 percent for milk is estimated. The prices for grain could rise by 8 percent, for beef by plus 24 percent, for pork by plus 43 percent and for milk by plus 2 percent.
“This impact can be reduced by around a fifth if a CAP implementation, in line with the 2018 legislative proposal, is adopted to accelerate the transition to more sustainable agriculture,” writes the EU Science Service. Even with an “ambitious implementation” of the new CAP, “the effects cannot be neglected”.
Agriculture Minister Köstinger appealed to the EU Commission to use the results of the impact assessment to revise the Green Deal. “If we make our production more climate-friendly but at the same time force the death of farmers and import climate-damaging products from other EU countries, we will miss the mark,” said Köstinger in a broadcast on Tuesday. Austrian agriculture reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 14.3 percent between 1990 and 2019. According to the minister, the main reasons for the decrease in greenhouse gas emissions are the various measures within the framework of the Austrian agri-environmental program (ÖPUL), which, for example, have led to a significant decrease in the amount of mineral fertilizer applied.
According to the President of the Chamber of Agriculture, the EU Commission must improve the Green Deal “into a future strategy for sustainable agriculture and forestry”. “It is important to take the initial situation, competition and practicality into account,” said Moosbrugger. Only with an adequate income for farmers there is “real sustainability”.
