Farmers and academics address fair prices for farmers with Commissioner Hansen at international conference on market regulation

The conference, entitled “Rethinking the regulation of agricultural markets for agroecological transition in Europe” and organised by European Coordination Via Campesina, Université Libre de Bruxelles, and the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam, sees participants from across the agri-food chain address the question of fair prices through market regulation and comes at a key moment for EU agricultural policy.

Farmers cannot currently earn a decent income from their farming activity, with prices paid to them often not covering production costs nor allowing for decent wages and social security payments for themselves or farm workers. In parallel, many consumers cannot afford fresh, healthy or local food and food poverty is growing. With EU policies currently failing to support the agri-food chain in undertaking the environmental and social transition needed, the conference represents a key opportunity to co-construct knowledge and share experiences and tools that exist globally to regulate markets to ensure fair prices for both farmers and consumers and address these crises.

In the first plenary of the event, focused on the future of the CAP, Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen underlined that farmers must be fairly remunerated for their work, and that CAP subsidies must be directed at supporting transition and at those who need them most. “You have some companies - I don’t want to call them farmers – that get CAP money but they are huge industrial consortia with the whole value chain in their hands. We have to discuss the definition of an active farmer because multibillion-euro consortia are not the ones who need protection, but rather the new generation of farmers, small and family farmers and mixed farmers.”

As highlighted in a letter handed to Hansen by the ECVC Youth Articulation at the event, the question of fair prices is central to ensuring generational renewal and thus the EU must amend the blacklist of the Unfair Trading Practices Directive via fast-track procedure, adding the purchase of agricultural produce below the cost of production. “We need immediate action to make farming attractive to young people and ensure they can make a living instead of allowing big corporations to make enormous profit at our expense”, Paola Laini, young agricultural worker and member of the ECVC coordinating committee, underlined.

Policymakers must in fact guarantee that farmers can make a living in order to resolve the many other economic, environmental and social questions linked to agriculture that seriously affect wider society. “Of course, European citizens want their food to be produced in a way that respects people, the environment and animals, and also be accessible, so we have to make sure farmers are paid prices that cover the costs of growing such food, instead of intermediaries taking huge margins. At this moment, many farmers simply don’t earn enough to afford a much-needed transition,” added Annelies Schorpion, Friends of the Earth Europe.

Morgan Ody, market gardener in Brittany and general coordinator of La Via Campesina further highlighted the Common Market Organisation regulation in the CAP as a key point of action. “We have to create the conditions for farm transition by regulating markets. Farmers need a CAP that guarantees fair prices, for example through minimum support prices, supply management, minimum entry prices and public stocks, etc.”

The reform to build this new CAP must therefore be informed by economic data and insight that takes into account the realities of farmers. As Laurence Roudart, academic at ULB and co-organiser of the conference explained, “Academics must also play a role in providing insight into how we can achieve a new Common Agricultural Policy which is up to the enormous environmental and social challenges we face. The co-construction of knowledge that is happening here between farmers and academics alongside the papers and contributions that will come out of it will be invaluable in defining a new future for agriculture.”

Notes to editor

Watch the plenary live streams of day one and day two of the conference.
Find all other info linked to the conference here.
Find all the photos of the event here.