Activities of Damiano ZOFFOLI related to 2015/2227(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Enhancing innovation and economic development in future European farm management (A8-0163/2016 - Jan Huitema) IT
Amendments (23)
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recognises that the major challenge will be to ensure an adequate wholesome food supply while at the same time preserving the environment and valuable resources for future generations;
Amendment 9 #
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 production 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 one of the main challenges in the near future will be to ensure an adequate supply of food not only in terms of quantity but also of quality and safety, whilst at the same time preserving the environment, and in particular the air, water and soil, and all the resources that are valuable for future generations;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the need to tackle food waste, since each year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted or lost, and also notes that there are 800 million people suffering from chronic hunger and nearly 2 billion who are obese or overweight;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas according to the UN, if the sustainable development goals (SDGs) are to be achieved agricultural productivity will have to double by 2030, while simultaneously the agri-food sector will have to adapt to climate change and changing weather conditions and, improve ecosystem and soil quality and minimise biodiversity loss; whereas four out of the eight UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are connected to agriculture;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Points to the need to promote food education programmes within the family and at school so as to encourage a proper diet from childhood;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Considers it essential to enable unsold food still fit for consumption to be donated to charities;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Points to the importance of a legal framework consistent with the circular economy principle, whereby clear guidelines could be drawn up for by- products, as distinct from waste, to be used for energy purposes, for example, and farming waste could be recycled without affecting land use;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Insists that farm management practices should minimise biodiversity loss, ensure the protection of water and soil quality and minimise biodiversity lquality and defend the fertility and functions of the soil by halting the uncontrolled use of land for non-agricultural purposes;
Amendment 47 #
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, which provides greater nutritional value and generates healthy, quality and affordable food for allproducts;
Amendment 55 #
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 more with less, meaning a smaller ecological footprint per kg of product produced; whereas this can be achieved only by using sustainable agricultural practices, such as crop diversification and the conservation of natural habitats, ecosystems and local varieties and species;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recalls that with appropriate economic incentives, fairer income distribution in the food supply chain and transparent market conditions including country of origin labelling, farmers would be better equipped to implement greening measures and/or organic farminggiven the opportunity to tackle climate change more effectively and to ensure the resilience of ecosystems through more widespread use of greening, owing to measures such as crop diversification and the maintenance of ecological focus areas, organic farming and agroecology, thereby contributing to the conservation and promotion of biodiversity;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas, a more productive 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 and the environment;
Amendment 78 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Believes that innovation is a key factor in supporting the agri-food sector, stimulating the creation of more and better jobs, thus helping to attract young people to the farming sector whilst at the same time preserving the traditional knowledge of farmers and animal breeders and reversing the phenomenaon of land abandonment and an ageing rural population, especially in hilly and mountainous areas, thereby also limiting the risk of hydrogeological instability;
Amendment 85 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Considers it essential in this regard to ensure that appropriate internet connections are provided in remote areas;
Amendment 90 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Urges Member States to invest more in research and innovation programmes and to develop new technologies, including precision farming, to help make agriculture attractive to young people; , to strengthen links between research, industry and farms, especially small and medium-sized ones, by facilitating the exchange of best practice and transfer of research results also to such farms, which, despite being more numerous across the EU, are often excluded from innovation circuits, and to develop new technologies, including precision farming, treatment and cultivation techniques that can restrict and gradually eliminate the use of chemicals that are harmful to human and animal health, in addition to the appropriate use of water resources;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that agriculture has always developed new practices, techniques and production methods that have increased outputs and improved the adaptability of farming practices to new and changing circumstances; notes further that agriculture is a key part of our natural world which thus provides services that go beyond producing food and can be enhanced by fostering new developments; is convinced that innovation is a prerequisite for maintaining this progress; stresses, however, the need to change direction and move towards agricultural practices that are more environmentally sustainable, such as organic farming and conservation agriculture, the key aim of which is to protect the environment and valuable resources for future generations;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Encourages innovative solutions in animal housing systems that can contribute to a higher level of animal health and welfare and consequently lead to higher levels of animal health, by reducing the need for veterinary medicinal products, including antimicrobials; stresses that the application of antimicrobials should be prudent and responsible and would be improved by improving the entire production chain with more efficient and faster diagnostic tools that rely on data, better real-time monitoring, targeted precautionary measures and new ways of dispensing in order to combat antimicrobial resistance;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Stresses the need to tackle food waste, and in particular systemic food waste, since each year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted or lost; Considers that, to reduce the present waste, greater cooperation is needed between farmers, producers, and distributors; Urges Member States to find innovative ways to tackle food waste, such as, for example, the distribution of unsold food to charitable organisations if it is still fit for consumption, or if not, its reuse in the nutrient cycle, through composting; points to the need to promote food education programmes within the family and at school so as to encourage a proper diet from childhood;
Amendment 176 #
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, and considers that developing modern agricultural practices will make agriculture more attractive to young farmers and entrepreneurs alike and also help to combat rural depopulation; points in addition to the need to preserve traditional knowledge and the material contribution provided through the day-to-day work of farmers and stockbreeders; 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 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Highlights that a sizeable proportion of biotic waste streams are already used as, for example, animal feed or base material for biofuels; considers, however, that these materials should generate even higher outputs by aiming for the most added value and by using new technologies such as biorefining, insect breeding, solid state fermentation, biogas extraction and the extraction of minerals from manure; notes the lack of economies of scale and clear rules for agricultural by-products and waste streams, and encourages the Commission to support their reuse by facilitating EU-wide recognition systems and special rural development programmes, to facilitate cross-border circulation and to improve synergy and coherence with other EU policies;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Considers soil quality to be of 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; calls 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 of pesticides that damage human and animal health and the environment; recognises the importance of a sustainable soil use that takes account of site-specific needs;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls for more efforts to be made to develop an integrated pest management system by supporting research into non- chemical alternatives and low-risk measures and pesticides which are more environment-friendly; calls on the Commission to come forward with an action plan and to set up an expert group in order to work towards a more sustainable pest management system; highlights the potential of a pest management that improves the interaction between plant breeding efforts, natural combat systems, and pesticide use, which should be gradually reduced; notes that biological control mechanisms relating to pests and diseases could reduce the use of pesticides and may contribute to better plant resilience;
Amendment 284 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Welcomes the opportunities opened up by the European Innovation Partnership AGRI (EIP-AGRI) for applied research within the agricultural sector, but is worried by the fragmented way the EIP- AGRI is implemented as part of national or regional Pillar II programmes; asks the Commission to look into the possibility of changing the EIP-AGRI cofinancing mechanisms in order to ensure effective research that is better linked to the market and is driven by real entrepreneurial needs, creating cross-border research focus groups and better participation possibilities for businesses, in particular for small and medium-sized businesses, which are mostly excluded from innovation circuits, with a more active involvement by the Commission in terms of providing an explicit innovation and research agenda linked to Horizon 2020 programmes;