The EU has unveiled its new Vision for Agriculture and Food which, despite the name, is not exactly what you would call ‘visionary’. So what does the EU’s new agricultural game plan envisage – or not – for the future of the sector, and does this spell the official death of the Farm to Fork strategy? Natasha Foote breaks down all you need to know.
The new EU vision for agriculture and food, which was published on 19 February, is a policy blueprint for the next 5 years and beyond.
The vision is more or less as envisioned, with no major surprises included since the leaked draft that ARC reported on in the run up to its unveiling. So, for the glass-half-full of you out there, that means the most interesting parts remain largely untouched.
This includes plans to redirect EU farming subsidies, and a stronger alignment of production standards applied to imported products, notably on pesticides and animal welfare. This includes, for example, not allowing the hazardous pesticides banned in the EU to be reimported back through imported products.
But more widely, this vision lacks… well, vision. The new agricultural gameplan has been widely denounced by green groups as meek and mild, offering tweaks around the edges rather than anything groundbreaking.
In the run up to its presentation, the Commission previously promised an evolution rather than a revolution – and that is exactly what we got. It’s just unfortunate that this is one of the times that the Commission actually kept its promises.
Goodbye Green Deal
We all knew it, but now we can officially say it. Gone are the days of the Green Deal.
Forget the Farm to Fork – the Vision charts a new course, swapping environmental sustainability for economic sustainability and a new focus on resilience, security, simplification and competitiveness.
Asked whether this Vision sounds the death knell of the Farm to Fork, Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen was clear. “The way of working has clearly changed towards those reductions that are needed,” he said during a press conference, stressing the need to “depolarise” the debate.
It is clear as well that some of the flagship policies of the Farm to Fork will not make a reappearance – for example, the EU’s plans to half the use and risk of pesticides.
“It is important to consider what has happened in the past, where do we stand, and how can we go further,” he said, noting that the sustainable use of pesticides regulation failed in the end in the co-legislative process, ultimately killing off the file.
In case there was any doubt, an EU official later added that there is “no intention” to do anything specific on sustainable pesticides.
Instead, the focus is on accelerating alternatives, such as biopesticides, with a new principle of ‘no bans without viable alternatives’ for plant protection products.
Translation: RIP Farm to Fork.
Leaner, not greener
The focus has switched instead from green to lean. This means streamlining the EU’s farming subsidy programme, with a new simplification package promised in the coming months in efforts to cut red tape.
The fear, of course, is that simplification becomes a synonym for deregulation – not an unfounded fear, given the Commission’s track record with the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
As in the leaked draft, the focus for the future of the EU’s farming subsidy programme is more carrot and less stick – or, as the Commissioner puts it, more incentives and less “imposition”.
“We want […] to go through incentives rather than imposing things on our farmers,” Hansen told journalists at the Vision’s launch, maintaining that this will see “better uptake” and that eco-schemes are “the very proof of that” – something that has raised eyebrows, given the rising evidence that the potential of eco-schemes remain underutilised.
As part of these efforts, the Commission will also develop and gradually phase in a voluntary benchmarking system for on-farm sustainability assessments – and if you think that sounds vague, that’s because it is. (ARC will explore what that might look like and what the current thinking on this is in the coming months, so keep your eyes peeled for that).
But the Commissioner did double down on a promise to give a go at redirecting the EU’s farming subsidies to those that need it most, i.e. towards farmers that “actively engage in food production, towards the economic vitality of farms and the preservation of our environment”. This is not a new idea, having previously been shot down in the co-legislative process between the European Parliament and the EU member states.
And while there’s no plan to abandon area-based payments any time soon, the Commissioner acknowledged the need to move more towards a “farm-based support and move away from the simple hectare payments”.
In short – baby steps in the right direction, but far short of the systemic change that green groups say are needed to ensure the future of farming and the environment.
What the fork?
The new vision also seems to have been shortsighted when it comes to the ‘fork’ side of the food chain.
In a commitment to circularity, there are a few ideas that have been recycled from the Farm to Fork strategy, such as a proposal on public procurement and on origin labelling.
But overall there’s very little focus on food. For instance, front-of-pack nutritional labelling plans have been dropped, while there is nothing concrete on tightening advertising standards and not much to be said on the retailer side of the coin.
And some of the more interesting proposals have been weakened between the draft and the final version. For example, on public procurement, the specification that the “lowest price should no longer be the only criterion” got lost somewhere along the way. Instead, it should “pursue a best value” approach to reward quality and sustainability efforts – and again, if you’re thinking that’s vague, that’s because it is.
The Commission also skirts around the meat question – and by that I mean literally, with the word ‘meat’ not meriting a single mention in the document. Instead, there is a reference to the need to “consider both the way protein is produced and consumed in the EU” focused mainly on reducing the EU’s protein dependencies to create a “more self-sufficient and sustainable EU protein system”, framing protein in competitiveness rather than sustainability.
Show me the money
The Vision has a strong focus on strengthening the economic viability of farming. This includes a new generational renewal strategy, new observatories to monitor land prices and help access to land, maximising new complementary income sources – think solar, biogas, carbon farming and nature credits.
It also doubled down on efforts to strengthen farmers’ positions in the food supply chain, including an (already promised) review of the Unfair Trade Practices to make sure farmers don’t have to sell below cost price.
However, it remains vague on some of the stickier points, namely the big budget question of whether the CAP budget will be merged – something that has farming associations very worried, with many of the main characters joining forces in a recent joint letter to stress the need for an “increased and dedicated CAP budget”.
The Commission is keeping its cards close to its chest on this, but there are some clues in the Vision of current thinking. For instance, it states that “synergies and complementarities” must be further enhanced, including a “closer coordination of funding instruments with sectorial policies”. Hmm.
It also emphasises the need to “leverage and de-risk private capital”, promising to work closely with institutional investors such as the European Investment Bank Group (EIBG) as well as the banking sector.
Asked about the budgetary plans, the Commissioner remained vague, but acknowledged that the strategic dialogue is “very clear” on the matter. It is likely to remain a hot topic in the months to come as discussions on the EU budget heat up, with proposals on both the next EU budget and the new CAP post-2027 proposal due to be presented in the summer.
More
LEAK: A sneak peek at the EU’s new blueprint for agrifood policy
EU’s Competitiveness Compass – North-Pointing or are Things Heading South for Agri Policy?
The EU Agri-Food Playbook 2025 – What to expect, why it matters
