Activities of Tom VANDENKENDELAERE related to 2022/2183(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Ensuring food security and the long-term resilience of EU agriculture (debate)
Amendments (31)
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas the EU shall not only become more independent in strategic areas such as defence or energy supply, but also be able to ensure food security at all times; whereas the current situation proves that food security cannot be considered as a permanent achievement; whereas European food production should be considered as a strategic sector and should also be maintained and strengthened in this way;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas prices on global agricultural markets had already risen prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, partly due to climate impacts and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas, according to the FAO, the concept of food security is not limited to the provision of food, but also encompasses the internationally recognised human right to food and access to healthy diets for all, yet no human right is so frequently violated; whereas a nutrition- sensitive transformation of agriculture and food systems will enable safe, affordable and nutritious food to be made available to people of all ages at all times;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. whereas healthy and balanced nutrition makes a positive difference to the lives of individuals and enables the equitable and sustainable development of society;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
F b. whereas the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) estimates that around 20% of global production of food is lost due to diseases in farmed animals, while reducing the incidence of these diseases is therefore one of the priorities to be considered in order to feed the world;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the future food security of the European Union is directly linked to the ambitions of the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Green Deal; whereas these rightful ambitions may not lead to less production of food in the European Union or an increase of our dependence on imports from third countries; whereas the cumulative effect of Green Deal related legislation must not lead to a decline in EU food production that could jeopardise food security in the EU;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the future food security of the European Union is directly linked to the ambitions of the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Green Deal; whereas the cumulative effect of Green Deal related legislation must not lead to a decline in EU food production or to increase in dependence on imports from third countries that could jeopardise food security in the EU;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas generational renewal is one of the biggest challenges for a resilient agricultural sector in the EU; whereas young farmers in particular are innovative and, if properly motivated and empowered, are willing to make investments that may increase the sustainability of agriculture; whereas the efforts in the Common Agricultural Policy have so far proved insufficient to turn the tide; whereas a broader set of policy tools will be necessary to support this necessary generational renewal;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
I a. whereas the well-functioning of the European single market is a precondition for ensuring food security; whereas all tariff and non-tariff barriers in the agrifood sector should be addressed; whereas such barriers might lead to de facto protectionism by member states in the EU;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
I a. whereas the current geopolitical challenges proves that food security is not a permanent achievement and that European food production should be considered as a strategic sector and should be preserved and strengthened in this respect as well;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)
Recital I b (new)
I b. Whereas only 11.9 % of all farm managers in the EU in 2020 were under 40 years of age, while 33.2 % of EU farm managers were aged 65 years and over; whereas the average age of a European farmer has increased to 57; whereas in 2020 there were 5.3 million fewer farms in the EU than in 2005, a decrease of 37 %; whereas, the number of farm managers fell 11.2 % between 2016 and 2020; whereas most of the EU Member States recorded an overall decline in the number of farm managers;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1 a (new)
Subheading 1 a (new)
Farmers and generational renewal
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Notes that the decline in the amount of farms and farm managers in combination with an increased average age of European farmers is worrying; emphasizes that in the long term generational renewal is the key priority to ensure European food security;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Calls on the Commission to take necessary measures to protect agricultural businesses with supporting measures to create certainty and create more guarantees to maintain and where necessary increase food production by European farmers; calls on the Commission to make thorough impact assessments with a specific focus on the potential impact on farmers of all new legislative proposals;
Amendment 231 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1 c. Calls on the Commission to make a socio-economic young farmers check in all upcoming agricultural and climate or environmental legislation to assess the potential impact on young farmers and the generational renewal in the agricultural sector.
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Calls on the Commission to ensure in the implementation of the Green Deal the diversity in agricultural models across the European Union and to ensure the geographical coverage of agricultural entrepreneurship and activity across the Union from a strategic point of view in terms of food security; emphasizes the need for specific implementation conditions for urbanised areas where family farms have to work with a high- cost model due to lack of space and often stricter regulations, making them disproportionally affected by new legislative provisions under the Green Deal;
Amendment 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that the European Green Deal could be a milestone in the EU transition to a greener and more sustainable economy, while pointing out that many of the resulting measures might have adverse effects, which have not yet been properly assessed, on EU farms and food security; calls on the Commission to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the cumulative impact of Green Deal legislative proposals on the EU farming sector; calls on the Commission to reconsider the ambitious targets, if necessary, with a view to ensuring food and nutrition security;
Amendment 292 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Emphasizes that the EU is a climatically and agriculturally favoured productive location, which should become aware of its responsibility not only to ensure its own food supply, but also to contribute to fighting hunger in other disadvantaged parts of the world;
Amendment 297 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Notes that due to increasing urbanization and global population growth there is an enormous reduction of land available for agriculture, and that it is possible to produce significantly more on less land in the sense of sustainable intensification or urban farming;
Amendment 327 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3 a (new)
Subheading 3 a (new)
EU Single Market
Amendment 329 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Calls on the Commission to ensure, with all possible means, the well- functioning of the European single market; calls on the Commission to step up its efforts to address all agrifood related barriers in the single market, including the unblocking of transport bottlenecks;
Amendment 356 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Notes that the impact of climate change on agricultural production is becoming more evident, with crop farmers' harvests and yields being negatively impacted with increased frequency by droughts, floods, and other extreme weather conditions;
Amendment 362 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Points out that new technical achievements in the field of plant breeding can enable crops to become more resilient to climatic and environmental influences and more resistant to pathogens and harmful organisms;
Amendment 366 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5 d. Calls on the Commission to advocate for the targeted use and further development of new breeding methods in agriculture and to initiate an objective and science-based impact assessment to clarify the potentials and risks of NGT;
Amendment 367 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 e (new)
Paragraph 5 e (new)
5 e. Calls on the Commission to promote a Europe-wide dialogue on the opportunities offered by new breeding methods with regard to climate change and to educate the public about the differences between transgenic plants and the new breeding methods;
Amendment 431 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Notes that alternative sources of nutrients and nutrient cycles to reduce dependence on chemical fertilisers should be fully exploited as soon as possible in order to reduce dependence on fertiliser imports, in particular by further supporting research and new innovations at EU level;
Amendment 481 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Reiterates that food losses and food waste can be avoided if measures are taken to prevent and manage animal diseases and to reduce the presence of pathogens in food, for example by ensuring proper hygiene and the use of improved technologies along the entire value chain, as well as the regular publication of information regarding these interrelated factors;
Amendment 510 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Believes that small-scale on-farm energy production installations have an enormous potential for energy production in rural areas and to increase the on-farm circularity by transforming the waste and residual streams of the farm, amongst others manure, into heat and electricity; emphasizes that all barriers should be removed to encourage farmers to invest in these technologies towards a circular farm, such as small-scale biogas plants; calls on the Commission to support the uptake of these innovative installations; stresses the need to valorise the residues of this process, for instance RENURE, which should be able to be categorised and used as chemical fertilizers;
Amendment 512 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. reiterates that only clear and consistent framework conditions can increase the attractiveness of the agricultural sector and rural areas by encouraging innovative new entrants and alternative agricultural business models, as well as attracting skilled labour and providing greater support for farmers' education and training;