AREFLH President Simona Caselli was invited by the European Commission to speak at the Agri Outlook conference on 6 and 7 December.

 

The event took stock of the outlook for European agriculture, agricultural market trends, food security, sustainability, digital technologies and data flows, in collaboration with farmers, EU policy-makers, business representatives, analysts and digital experts.

 

Simona Caselli spoke this morning, 7 December during the session on the medium-term outlook for agriculture. She emphasised the importance of producers agregating in APOs and POs. This is how the smallest structures can benefit from the innovations that are essential for the transition to sustainable farming practices. These tools include digital technology, precision farming and big data.

 

Simona Caselli also stated that work on improving risk management systems is necessary.

 

Finally, with regard to the promotion and consumption of fruit and vegetables, she pointed out that it is essential to develop educational work with consumers so they understand that fresh produce can be easy to prepare and inexpensive. 

 

Read the programme

For more information, visit agriculture.ec.europa.eu/eu-agri-food-days_en

AREFLH is delighted that the European Parliament has approved the draft regulation on packaging without the restrictions initially planned for the fruit and vegetable sector (vote on 22 November).

 

This decision comes after months of work to make the European institutions aware of what this draft legislation would mean for the fruit and vegetable sector if certain critical issues were not adequately addressed.

 

Thanks to its contacts with DG ENV, the parliamentary committees most involved in the debate and analysis of this legislative proposal, and the MEPs identified as key contacts for this dossier, AREFLH has demonstrated its ability to communicate the experiences and concerns of its members on a number of key issues, and to engage in constructive dialogue in order to propose realistic and positive solutions to our common challenges. 

 

Read the rest of the press release: FR, EN, ES, IT,

On 16 November in Brussels, Luca Contrino spoke at the 3rd meeting of the "From farm to fork" Forum whose main theme was "responses to the cost of living crisis".

He led a discussion session on the green and digital transition of producer organisations in this economic context of rising production and operating costs.
 
The forum brought together representatives from European institutions, national agencies responsible for agriculture and other interested parties, enabling the topic to be analysed from a number of different perspectives.

Despite the highly sensitive nature of the subject, the best practice forum revealed a cross-cutting consensus regarding the identification of the main problems leading to a cost of living crisis, and the need to adopt shared solutions along the agri-food value chain, and therefore not to impose responsibility for a green and digital transition solely on certain players in the agri-food system.
 

Link to the event page

Simona Caselli spoke at ICOP, the International Congress of F&V Producers' Organisations, on 22 November in Almería, tackling the subject of sustainability, food safety and climate change.

She stressed the need to continue to focus on sustainable packaging for fruit and vegetables. "It's thanks to events like ICOP that strong professional relationships are created, strengthening AREFLH through the exchange of ideas and good practice."

Read Simona Caselli's presentation
Visit ICOP's website

On the morning of 1^er February 2024, AREFLH is organising a public meeting on the following topic: Water use and agriculture - key challenges, best practices and next steps, at the Committee of the Regions in Brussels from 9am to 1pm.

 

This event aims to advance the debate on the serious water situation in Europe and its impact on the agricultural sector. The event will also seek to raise awareness of best practice, projects addressing the problem and what realistic next steps can be taken to alleviate the water situation.

 

The programme is currently being drawn up, and you will be informed as soon as it is published.

The final event of the EU-Canada dialogue on sustainable agriculture took place in Brussels on 5 December. Since June 2021, the dialogue has focused on soil health, reducing emissions from livestock, organic matter, fertilisers and pesticides.

 

Farmers are on the front line of climate change, facing an increased risk of forest fires and extreme weather events such as floods and droughts. They are also a key part of the solution, able to sequester carbon, ensure healthy soils and help protect our natural environments.

 

Through the Farm to Table strategy and related initiatives, the European Union aims to ensure that agriculture contributes to combating climate change and is sustainable for future generations. These challenges transcend European borders and must be tackled at international level.

  

Find out more on the European Parliament website

A new Food for Europe podcast has been published. It deals with agrivoltaics, "a promising alliance between solar energy and agriculture".

Agrivoltaics is a set of practices that enable the production of photovoltaic energy and agricultural production to coexist in the same area at the same time.

 

What impact do solar panels have on yields? Are photovoltaic solutions suitable for all types of crops and livestock?

 

Listen to the podcast

SIVAL, the international fair of plant production techniques, will be held in the Pays de la Loire region from 16 to 18 January in Angers. It offers a complete range of equipment and services for specialised crop production: arboriculture, vegetable growing, seeds, viticulture, horticulture, medicinal and aromatic plants, cider, mushrooms, tobacco, etc.

 

Jean-Louis Moulon, Vice-Chairman, will be present to represent the AREFLH.

 

Visit the website