Do organic farmers still have a chance in Europe?

euronews (in English)

For more than a year now, European agricultural policy has been in a state of unrest.

Transcript

00:00Yes, quite a lot going on here.

00:07To stop climate change and soil erosion, Europe needs sustainable agriculture.

00:12But still, as an organic farmer, you work more than a conventional farmer.

00:21The effort is worth it.

00:23Fewer pesticides and insecticides mean healthier food and greater biodiversity.

00:29Therefore, the European Commission has proposed an action plan for the promotion of organic farming.

00:35In 2022, only one-tenth of the land in the EU will be used for organic farming.

00:41By 2030, it will be a quarter.

00:44This is the unassailable goal.

00:46Only Austria already reaches the 25% mark today,

00:50followed by Estonia, Sweden, Portugal and Italy.

00:54Big EU countries like Spain, France and Germany have an average of 10-11% organic farming,

01:02while agrarian countries in Central and Eastern Europe, such as Hungary, Romania or Poland,

01:07do significantly less organic farming.

01:10Yes, the European Court of Auditors has reviewed the EU Commission's organic strategy

01:15and submitted a report.

01:17From 2014 to 2022, Europe financed its farmers with 520 billion euros.

01:24Of this, 12 billion went to organic farmers, 2%.

01:28The money is distributed according to the grain principle.

01:31Therefore, the Court of Auditors calls for measurable targets and a global strategy for organic farmers.

01:36In order for consumers to access organic products more often, the EU has already introduced an eco-label.

01:43Unassailable targets and a clever bio-label alone are not enough to stabilize organic farming.

01:49Europe's organic farmers need a long-term perspective.

01:52And this is exactly what the European Court of Auditors calls for.

01:55The EU Commission will submit new plans.

01:57Stay tuned.

02:03Austria's organic farmers are European champions.

02:06Nowhere else in the European Union is such a large part of the arable land ecologically cultivated.

02:22Instead of fungicides and chemical fertilizers, Zetner uses a self-made hay tea from fermented grasses.

02:29After taking over the company from his father, Herbert and his brother switched to organic four years ago.

02:36Conventionally, it takes us 500 hours to work on 74 hectares.

02:42Now, in the case of regenerative agriculture, it takes us 1,500 hours.

02:47This means that we have to work three times as hard.

02:52Herbert grows 24 different field fruits.

02:55Leindotter, oats, dinkel, chickpeas, peas, the list is long.

02:59A research project is currently underway in the EU, which aims to find out how CO2 can be bound in the soil from the air.

03:07Carbon economy slows down climate change, and the farmers are happy about fruitable humus.

03:13That the roots hang over the earth is a great interaction with the soil.

03:18We want that.

03:19The soil is beautifully rooted.

03:21The soil is very fine-grained.

03:23That's how I like it.

03:25That's nice.

03:27Humus cultivation works with subseeds and strip cultivation, instead of monocultures and giant acres.

03:34Herbert remembers his grandparents, who fed their chickens with deer.

03:38It was the first time I went to elementary school with the tractor.

03:42With my grandpa.

03:44In order to slow down climate change and species extinction, the European Commission had planned

03:49that all farmers had to leave 4% of their land bare.

03:53But protests by conventional farmers led to the fact that this was now rejected.

03:58Something like brookland or fruit or flowering strips should be compulsory in the European Union or voluntary.

04:06Brook, flowering strips and the right fruit.

04:10With summer to winter, palm, leafy vegetables, I think it's compulsory.

04:18Today, Herbert is bringing out the winter seed.

04:21His fields should always be green, no matter the season.

04:25This is also good for the CO2 balance.

04:32In Auerstal, a small village in the east of Austria, many organic farmers live.

04:38Herbert's neighbor Christian is also an organic farmer.

04:41And Clemens, who runs an organic chicken farm.

04:44I don't think organic farming comes out of the niche,

04:48if it's not politically wanted and promoted.

04:52The farmer who grows hummus, wants to do something for nature.

04:58And that I also finance it in a way that the farmer gets money for it.

05:02And first of all, I'm CO2, I do a lot of good things.

05:06And that this is recognized by the EU, that's what I want.

05:09An attempt to better shape the future of organic farming

05:14would be to give more power to the regions that know the problems on site.

05:20You would have to go back to small, structured farms.

05:24And the funding system doesn't help there, I don't think.

05:30Yes, here at the Department for Botany at the University of Vienna

05:34one of the most famous researchers on biodiversity worldwide, Professor Essl.

05:39Good day.

05:40Yes, what can agriculture do to stop climate change and species extinction?

05:44I have been grilling with organic farmers all over Austria in recent days.

05:47They also have a lot of questions for you, Mr. Essl.

05:55First question from Mr. Zedner.

05:58My question was, why don't you promote regenerative organic farming?

06:02Those who look at humus, point one.

06:04To remove CO2 from the atmosphere, agriculture can do that.

06:08If you cultivate the soil differently, then more humus remains in the soil.

06:13And that should be worth more to society than before.

06:17That means the European Union should pay for farmers to get CO2 out of the air and store it in the soil.

06:24Exactly.

06:25That fits the second question from organic farmer Clemens Teurelsbachner with chickens.

06:32Why are only the larger farms promoted?

06:34I would like to see that the promotion is no longer tied to the soil.

06:38The system is designed in such a way that the farms always have to grow to stay profitable.

06:43Larger and more technicized farms.

06:46I don't think this should be the model of European agriculture.

06:49Small farmers should get more of their soil.

06:52Larger farmers, less.

06:54Then we have Christian Fürhacker, organic farmer.

06:58Why does everything have to be controlled so centrally from Brussels?

07:05The alternative 27 national agricultural policies, which are next to each other,

07:10will certainly be poorly coordinated than the current agricultural policy,

07:14do not contribute to a more sustainable agriculture in Europe as a whole.

07:19In Brussels, there is a fierce discussion about how to proceed.

07:23The silence of fields.

07:25So far, it was 4% on EU level.

07:28This was taken back as a result of the farmers' protests.

07:31But this silence of small areas is a very effective measure for nature conservation.

07:40Will the new EU Commission continue to make unconditional recommendations out of fear of protests?

07:45Or does it want to take climate protection seriously?

07:48More organic farmers could help.

07:53Find out more.

07:55www.slu.se

Category

Transcript

Recommended