Activities of Stefan ECK related to 2015/2227(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on enhancing innovation and economic development in future European farm management
Amendments (41)
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Tackling factory farming, one of the greatest sustainability concerns of our time, presents a unique opportunity to resolve some of the world’s most pressing economic, environmental and ethical challenges;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Recognises that consumers across EU demand a better food quality and safety while reducing the environmental impact of agriculture and farming;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Recognises that meat and dairy overconsumption might cause health problems and their massive production is highly energy intensive, resources consuming and has a considerable impact on GHGs emission;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Stresses the need to launch educational campaign on healthy diets and habits to prevent food induced diseases;
Amendment 22 #
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 the need to address the wasteful use of cereals as animal feed in intensive production systems - which is an inefficient and environmentally damaging use of land and resources - instead of using these crops to feed people directly;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses, therefore, the importance of supporting farmers in the transition to more sustainable agricultural practices, with the aim of increasing efficiency and productivity while ensuring, food safety, the protection of human and animal health and a reduction in pollution and greenhouse gas emissions;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Underlines that farm management is key to ensure food security (at local, regional, national and world level), to help reduce climate change and to make a sustainable use of natural resources; and that it plays a crucial role in looking after the countryside across the EU territory and keeping the rural economies alive; environmentally sustainable farming, which uses natural resources prudently and respects animal welfare, is essential for our food production and for our quality of life – today, tomorrow and for future generations;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. A broad cultural shift is needed or, in other words, a food and farming revolution that provides healthy, affordable food for all produced from farming systems that promote our welfare and that of farm animals, support rural livelihoods and relieve poverty, protect the planet and its precious natural resources;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Insists that farm management practices should ensure the protection of water and, soil quality and minimise biodiversity loss;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Highlights the key role played by organic and biodynamic farming in preserving natural resources , preventing environmental pollution and directly and indirectly preserving biodiversity;
Amendment 58 #
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 lesssustainably, meaning a smaller ecological footprint per kg of product produced;
Amendment 66 #
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;
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Points out that livestock husbandry practices that protect animals’ health and wellbeing are inherent to modern sustainable farm management models; acknowledges that animal welfare should be further improved and that coherent animal welfare standards across the EU are critical to the definition of good animal husbandry;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Emphasises that by raising livestock on pasture, farmers enable their animals to move freely, engage in instinctive behaviours, consume a natural diet, and avoid the stress and illness associated with confinement;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Calls upon the Commission and Member States to discourage industrial intensive farming because of its huge environmental impact;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Urges the European Union to invest more public funds in the strategic sector of organic farming by developing farming techniques to increase soil microbial activity and biodiversity - including the use of composting techniques and of companion planting and cover crops; the collective purchase and use of machinery and the development of machines adapted to the needs of organic farming; the selection of locally appropriate robust varieties; the identification of new sources or organic fertilisers and the protection of plants against insects naturally;
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 7 – point 1 (new)
(1) Asks the European Commission to put forward proposals for dissemination, training and education programmes on greener and animal-welfare compatible farming systems;
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 – point 2 (new)
Paragraph 7 – point 2 (new)
(2) Underlines that bringing farmers and consumers closer together through local food networks, often characterised by personal, direct contact between the producer and the customer, offers values such as food being fresh and locally produced with less impact on environment, and represents an opportunity to increase the farmer’s income; the positive role played by short supply covers a range of direct selling (from selling on the farm, at farmers’ markets, or via the internet);
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the agricultural sector has been subject to frequent cycles of change aimed at enhancing agricultural productivity, which have contributed significantly to the economic development of agriculture to its current level; whereas the incorporation of the latest technologies into farming practices will bring significant benefits for all farm sizes; is leading to increased debt among farmers and increased dependence on fossil fuels and banks, as well as having a hugely negative social and environmental impact; whereas this has led to the closure of many farms, concentrating production in increasingly large farms based on an industrial model;
Amendment 98 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Calls upon the Commission and Member State to invest on the improvement of the varieties of endemic plant species which could be suitable for animal feeding in order to reduce the dependence on the import of animal feed often made up of genetically engineered plants;
Amendment 99 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Underlines the importance of enhanced efforts in adapting current agriculture and water management practices to climate change. and sees an urgent need to reduce cattle livestock climate emissions by adopting new farm management practices and strategies related to housing and feeding which, in some cases, are already available;
Amendment 104 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 – indent 1 (new)
Paragraph 9 – indent 1 (new)
- Calls on the European Union to develop and explore integrated strategies to reduce the use of antibiotics to protect human and animal health and animal welfare notably by looking into alternative treatments (e.g. adapted housing systems, feeding, use of herbs).
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Is strongly convinced that economic development andmust be based on sustainable production are not mutually exclusive and arend is achievable mainly through innovationagroecology; stresses the need to support innovation in technology and governance by providing regulatory coherence, clarity and room for entrepreneurship, and urges the Commission to ensure that innovation is explicitly taken into accountagroecological farming is supported in forthcoming reviews and reforms of relevant legislation; highlights the fact that European agriculture is able to produce high-quality and high-added value products together with profitable, knowledge-based solutions in order to feed a growing anwith which to feed Europe’s population, giving priority to the production of food mfore demanding world population the internal market;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Encourages the Commission to come forward with solutions to stimulate the uptake of ICT-based management systems, real-time data monitoring, sensor technology and the use of detection systems for the optimisation of production systems or precision agriculture, which inter alia could mean adapting to changing production and market conditions leading todesigned to promote progress towards agroecology, which inter alia could mean more efficient use of natural resources, increased crop performancebetter crops, reduction of the environmental footprint, better understanding of animal behaviour, and improved animal health and welfare;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Emphasises the enormous potential of technologyresearch and innovation for the development of new products and servicesa less oil-dependent form of farming 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 modernenvironmentally friendly agricultural practices will make agriculture more attractive to young farmers and entrepreneurs alike; 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 newagroecological production methods;
Amendment 195 #
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 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 policiese need to reduce biotic waste streams by developing a form of farming grounded in the principles of agroecology;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Points out that climate-smart farmingagroecological practices could have a triple-win effect by increasing sustainable production, ensuring climate-resilient farming that is better able to cope with changing and adversemuch more beneficial effect, since they improve soil quality, require less weather patterns, and reducing emissions from the agricultural sector by encouraging productive, resource- efficient and circular systems; stressesand increase sustainable production, ensuring a form of farming that the agricultural sector has the unique opportunity to actively capture CO2 by means of forestation, use of cover crops and leguminous crops, and absorbing greenhouse gases in the soil (carbon sinking)lps mitigate the effects of climate change by cutting the amount of emissions generated by the farming sector;
Amendment 230 #
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, in line with agroecological principles, and plant-soil interactions which could lower the environmental impact and reduce the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides; recognises the importance of a sustainable soil use that takes account of site-specific needs;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls for a continuous development of innovative new breeding techniques for plants, as this is of vital importance for the efficient development of newmeasures to promote the recovery of local and traditional varieties, contributing to the development of plants with higher yields, greater nutritional value and better resistance to pests, diseases and adverse weather conditions; believes that many new breeding techniques provide unprecedented opportunities to reduce the environmental impact of conventional agriculture; disapproves of the current administrative and regulatory burdens; urges the Commission to encourage new techniques and ensure access to biological materials for SMEs in the breeding sector, and expects it to give primacy to innovation in this respect and safeguard the right of farmers to use and exchange their seeds;
Amendment 280 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Acknowledges that there is a great potential for better risk management and sSees the current risk management tools as underdeveloped, a situation which could result in short-term loss of productivity and long-term loss of innovation; calls on the Commission to investigate and report on the possibility of stimulating private insurance schemes covering adverse climatic events, animal or plantestablish a range of aid decoupled from the obligation to pay crop insurance to offset losses caused by adverse weather conditions or natural diseases, pest infestations or environmental incidents, as mentioned in Article 37 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013ters of all kinds; calls, too, for crop insurance be adapted to suit small and medium-sized farms;
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Considers that economic development andmust be linked to ecological sustainability are complementary provided enough room is left for innovation and entrepreneurship and provided action isnd action must be taken to prevent the appearance of differences in national implementation, so as to ensure a genuine level playing field, also by exploring new and relevant techniques such as satellite imaging; calls on the Commission to ensure a genuine level playing field for the agricultural sector by actively monitoring relevant legislation such as the Birds and Habitats Directives and the implementation thereof and reporting back to Parliament every two years;
Amendment 302 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Stresses that the CAP should be moreprincipally focused on farmers’ needs while not compromising policy goals; stresses the need for a more flexible legislative framework that is better aligned to deliver synergies with other sectors such as chemicals, health and technology, by enhancing knowledge crossovers, integration of resource use and better understanding of reciprocal effects in order to optimise their interplay and better integrate with the circular economy, stresses further that a market-oriented CAP will enhance the innovative power and competitiveness of the European agricultural sector by reducing government intervention and stimulating entrepreneurshipmaintaining and promoting small and medium-sized farms, environmental conservation and high- quality, healthy food, and ensuring remunerative prices;
Amendment 308 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Considers innovation to be an essential tool and a key horizontal policy priority for the CAP to develop, implement and achieve the objectives of the CAP reform 2014-2020a new CAP a new agroecological PAC that accords priority to the domestic market; calls on the Commission, therefore, to provide a more ambitious overarching strategy with measurable outcomes in order to align and focus research and innovation vis-à-vis policy priorities; stresses that the CAP should provide more flexibility for the use of newly developed techniques and pracfor the provision of infrastructure for the local community, such as abattoirs and industrial facilitices without an increase in burdensome rules and procedurefor the processing and sale of agricultural products; believes that a horizontal priority for the European legislative framework should be to ensure sufficient leeway for pilot programmes and testing for innovative techniques;