Activities of Giulia MOI related to 2015/2227(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on enhancing innovation and economic development in future European farm management PDF (339 KB) DOC (138 KB)
Amendments (21)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
– having regard to the UN's International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development of the FAO, GEF, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, the World Bank and WHO,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the UN’'s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that the expected rise in the world’'s population to 9.1 billion by 2050 will require a 60 % increase in food productionsupply and a 24 % increase in crop yields in the developed countries by that date; whereas the FAO also estimates that there will be only a 4.3 % increase in arable land by 2050; whereas between 30-50% of the food produced in the EU is wasted, and although it is difficult to measure and it occurs at varying rates according to sector and occurs at different stages of the production and supply chain in different parts of the world there is some consensus that the global average of food waste is around 30%;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas food sovereignty is a key element to allow the different regions of the world to produce the necessary agricultural products to feed themselves ; whereas it is the responsibility of the EU to improve its own agriculture by decreasing its own food resources footprint, e.g. by decreasing dependency on inputs like soya from deforested tropical forest, and by ceasing land grabbing and dumping on sensitive markets;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas land everywhere faces a drop-off in intrinsic productivity and fertility caused by land degradation, especially soil erosion, due to loss of ecosystem functions such as topsoil formation, humification, pollination, water retention and nutrient cycling;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas because of biologically limited energy transfer efficiencies between trophic levels, it is more resource-efficient for humans to produce and consume much more vegetable protein; indeed as part of leguminous crop rotations as practiced since the middle ages it provides for a more fertile and productive soil due to nitrogen fixation in nodules;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas cows and other ruminants have evolved to eat grass, or rather digest the bacteria that break down the grass, to obtain the protein they need; whereas as dairy farmers globally suffer due to overproduction of European milk, agronomists are increasingly questioning a soya dependency that means cows are fed like Olympic athletes in order to produce the most milk they can simply to oversupply an already-saturated market;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas despite the numerous challenges and the growing number of standards farmers have to deal with, EU consumers have never spent a smaller percentage of their income on food; whereas prices of goods from other sectors of the economy have increased over the decades, food prices have intentionally been kept low in the USA and the EU and this has had the effect of squeezing farmers as costs of production have increased faster than farm gate prices;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas consumers are demanding food production with higher environmental standards and nutritional value, while the agricultural sector needs to diversify and innovate to provide good quality and affordable food for all;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas owing to pressure on natural resources, climate change, the scarcity of land, the vulnerability of the environment, the growth of the world population and changing consumer behaviour, it is essential that farmers produce morebetter with less non-renewable resources, meaning a smaller ecological footprint per kg of product produced;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas, a more productive, an equitable income and resource-efficient agriculture is key to addressing the challenges of sustainability for all farms of whatever size and to making them better equipped to preserve natural resources;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)
Recital K a (new)
Ka. whereas a living, healthy soil will guarantee optimal defence and nutrition from beneficial organisms like mycorrhizae or free living nitrogen-fixing bacteria ; whereas these and other beneficial soil organisms are killed off by both synthetic fertiliser and pesticide use, stopping free delivery of the full range of macro- and micro-nutrients and minerals to the plant, rather than only nitrogen and phosphorous in fertilisers which are mostly lost as pollutants in water ; whereas such complete nutrition from a living soil ensures plants grow robustly and resist pest attack better, and that plants are more nutritious and the animals eating them are also healthier ; whereas mycorrhizae act not only as a barrier against pathogenic organisms, but also symbiotically provide crops water and nutrients in exchange for sugars exuded by plant roots;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K b (new)
Recital K b (new)
Kb. whereas a living, healthy soil will guarantee optimal defence and nutrition from beneficial organisms like mycorrhizae or free living nitrogen-fixing bacteria ; whereas these and other beneficial soil organisms are killed off by both synthetic fertiliser and pesticide use, stopping free delivery of the full range of macro- and micro-nutrients and minerals to the plant, rather than only nitrogen and phosphorous in fertilisers which are mostly lost as pollutants in water ; whereas such complete nutrition from a living soil ensures plants grow robustly and resist pest attack better, and that plants are more nutritious and the animals eating them are also healthier ; whereas mycorrhizae act not only as a barrier against pathogenic organisms, but also symbiotically provide crops water and nutrients in exchange for sugars exuded by plant roots;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K c (new)
Recital K c (new)
Kc. whereas organic farming represents such a fusion of longstanding techniques with innovative ones, based on living, self- regenerating and self-strengthening systems;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Recalls that between 30-50% of the food produced in the EU is wasted, and although it is difficult to measure and it occurs at varying rates according to sector and occurs at different stages of the production and supply chain in different parts of the world there is some consensus that the global average of food waste is around 30%; Urges for a better management of food produces to avoid food waste;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Notes that in 2013, the USA-based multinational Monsanto purchased the Climate Corporation, which owns the data of the farmers using precision farming technology; Calls on the Commission warns not to take such an approach in the EU;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Emphasises the enormous potential of technology and innovation for the development of new products and services and job creation along the whole agri-food value chain; highlights the creation of new jobs in the agricultural sector, which is of pivotal importance for rural development, rural repopulation and economic growth, and considers that developing modern agricultural practices will make agriculture more attractive to young farmers and entrepreneurs alike; calls on the Commission to look into the possibilities of incentivising farmers to raise public awareness concerning the workings of the agri-food chain and new production methods;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Considers soil quality to be of a major and vital economic and ecological importance since a depletion of the ecological state would result in less productive soil, lower nutrient availability, increases in susceptibility of plants to pests and diseases, lower water holding capacity and diminished biodiversity; callUrges on the Commission to support innovative practices and the sharing of best practices such as crop rotation systems or fertilising with green legumes to avoid further soil degradation; believes that the interplay between organic matter and production needs to be better understood; welcomes research into innovative practices such as the use of microbial interventions and plant-soil interactions which could lower the environmental impact and reduce the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides; recognises the importance of a sustainable soil use that takes account of site-specific needs;
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Reminds that a pesticide is a substance intended to kill living things, mostly by interfering with respiratory and metabolic pathways common to many species, so that all problems with pesticides has always been an inability to target the pest species, resulting in collateral damage to other life forms in the agro-ecosystem including soil life; Notes that species beneficial to crop plants, defending their roots and providing water and nutrition in the soil and preying on pests above ground, are also killed, meaning that crops become susceptible to future attacks;
Amendment 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Notes with concern the trend towards breeding seed to be dependent upon agro- chemicals, and using a prophylactic approach by coating seeds with pesticides, as this prevents the natural nutrition and defence mechanisms found in living, healthy soils and biologically diverse agro-ecosystems to resist pest attack, preventing integrated approaches such as IPM from working properly, as well as locking farmers in to chemical dependency and increasing susceptibility to future attacks;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Regrets that the approval process for non-chemical alternatives to plant protection products such as biological controls and nature-based solutions is the same as for conventional pesticides and biocides; notes the huge success of biological and nature-based controls especially in the fruit sector; calls therefore for easing of these restrictions, notwithstanding due attention to be given to avoid release of alien species;
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Considers innovation to be an essential tool and a key horizontal policy priority for the CAP to develop, implement and achieve the objectives of the CAP reform 2014-2020; calls on the Commission, therefore, to provide a more ambitious overarching strategy with measurable outcomes in order to align and focus research and innovation vis-à-vis policy priorities; stresses that the CAP should provide more flexibility for the use of newly developed techniques and practices without an increase in burdensome rules and procedures; believes that a horizontal priority for the European legislative framework should be to ensure sufficient leeway for pilot programmes and testing for innovative techniques;