Activities of Rosanna CONTE related to 2022/2183(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on ensuring food security and long-term resilience of the EU agriculture
Amendments (35)
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas protection of biodiversity not only has natural value, but also represents the true added value of agricultural production in the European Union, and whereas investing in distinctiveness is a necessary condition for allowing agricultural undertakings to distinguish themselves in terms of the quality of their production and thus to face the globalised market by safeguarding, defending and creating local economic systems around food value;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas consumer demand is increasingly oriented towards food that can offer health guarantees, towards healthy and sustainable products and, in particular, towards products of clear origin that are obtained through traditional methods of agricultural production, and whereas the high quality, welfare, sustainability and environmental protection standards of European agricultural and agri-food production have been verified;
Amendment 54 #
B. whereas COVID-19 and the war against Ukraine and the ensuing significant increases in input prices are leading to a significant cumulative distortion on global agricultural, fisheries and aquaculture markets, in particular on the cereals and vegetable oil markets; whereas food production and access to food must not be endangered or used as a geopolitical weapon;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Supports the just transition to agro- ecologicalsustainable and organic farming; reiterates its support for the ambitions, targets andthat the goals of the farm to fork, biodiversity and zero-pollution strategies; welcomes their published and announced legislative proposals, including those must neither lead to a reduction or lowering of food safety, quality and supply standards in the EU nor have negative effects on farms; welcomes, where possible, their proposals related to the reduction in the use of pesticides and their associated risks and the setting of EU food waste reduction targets; stresses that these proposals must be supported by appropriate and comprehensive impact studies based on scientific evidence;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas, as a result of the COVID- 19 crisis and the war against Ukraine, critical agricultural infrastructure, in particular transport and storage infrastructure, is hampering the movement of food, feed and other agricultural products;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Reiterates the importance of supporting local production and the consumption of seasonal, local products from a short and verified supply chain that protects both small producers and, at the same time, consumers, reduces waste and losses, and is capable of providing healthy, certified, quality products with a reduced environmental footprint;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas consumer demand is increasingly geared to food that provides guarantees in terms of health and of products that are healthy and sustainable and, in particular, of a clear origin and obtained through traditional agricultural production methods; and whereas European agricultural and agri-food production is of high standards in terms of quality, well-being, sustainability and environmental protection;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas in recent years more and more products emanating from food multinational processing procedures and labelled ‘zero-...’, ‘no ...’, ‘...-enriched’ and ‘functional’ have been placed on the market, which is to say products obtained via a process of combining and manipulating foodstuffs that turns them into artificial products far removed from nature and the land;
Amendment 101 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls for the strictreasonable application of the One Health principle in all policies that affect the availability and accessibility of food; stresses that food safety must never be jeopardised;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas, while 63% of low-income people worldwide are employed in agriculture and the overwhelming majority of them work on small farmsfarms whose existence is at risk, many people are at risk of food shortages and hunger; whereas the availability of food varies due to climate, seasonality and limited production1 ; _________________ 1 https://www.ifad.org/en/covid19
Amendment 105 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the Commission to consider livestock positive contribution to carbon sequestration and biodiversity;
Amendment 115 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights that the availability of plant proteins, if consumed directly, is more than sufficient to meet globala balanced diet, such as the Mediterranean diet, which involves consumption of quality food produced from sustainable agriculture and livestock farming, should be promotein needsd; acknowledges the positive impact that greater consumption of plant- based dietfoods haves on humans, animals, the planet and food security; stresses that reducing the number and density of farmed animalssustainable management of livestock farming can effectively combat the climate and biodiversity crises, decrease the risk of zoonotic diseases and contribute to food security in the short and long terms; deplores the placing on the market of ‘zero-’, ‘-free’, ‘enriched’ or ‘functional’ products, made by the multinational food companies using transformation processes involving assembly and handling activities that make these foods artificial products far removed from nature, with a greater environmental impact than traditional agricultural production methods;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the future food security of the European Union is directly linked to the ambitions of the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Green Deal; whereas the cumulative effect of Green Deal -related legislation must not lead to a decline in EU food production that could, which would then jeopardise food security in the EU;
Amendment 137 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
Amendment 149 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Considers that it is necessary to raise the limits for the use of nitrogen fertilisers derived from animal manure, such as RENURE1 a, digestate and any other useful and verified alternatives, in line with the limits currently applicable to fertilisers; calls, further, on the Commission to consider a temporary exemption to bring down the cost of fertilisers and to review the Nitrates Directive and its limit of 170 kg/ha nitrogen per year; __________________ 1 a REcovered Nitrogen from manURE (RENURE).
Amendment 152 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Amendment 156 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Reiterates its position on new genomic breeding techniques1; regrets the biased naturepoints out that new genetic improvement targets can promote sustainability; calls, therefore, on the EU and the Member States to speed up research ofn the current impact assessment and callsuse of new cultivation techniques in order to increase yields and make crops more resilient to climate change and new pathogens, particularly in view onf the Commission to restart the process droughts and water shortages that are afflicting an inclusive mannerreasing number of EU Member States; __________________ 1 Resolution of 20 October 2021 on a farm to fork strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system. OJ C 184, 5.5.2022, p. 2.
Amendment 160 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Underlines the importance of ensuring the security and diversity of seed and plant propagating material to provide stable yields and plant varieties adapted to the pressures of climate change, including traditional and locally-adapted varieties, and varieties suitable for organic production and low input farming systems, while ensuring transparency and freedom of choice for farmers and access to genetic resources and innovative plant breeding techniques in order to contribute to healthy seeds and protect plants against harmful pests and diseases and to help farmers tackle the growing risks caused by climate change, ensuring an incentive for open innovation through plant variation;
Amendment 166 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Is concerned that the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports mainly benefits Western feed and livestock industries instead of alleviating pressures in the Global South2COVID-19 crisis and the current war in Ukraine have highlighted the risk to EU food security; reiterates the need to strengthen EU food security and sovereignty, to reduce dependence on third-country imports and to increase essential agricultural infrastructure, in particular transport and storage infrastructure to ensure the movement and supply of food and feed within the Union; stresses, further, the need to ensure that farmland is used primarily for the production of food and feed; __________________ 2 https://ruralsociologywageningen.nl/2022/ 11/11/crisis-and-capitalism-a-deep-dive- into-the-black-sea-grain-initiative-and- the-global-politics-of-food/
Amendment 173 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Underlines that the food safety of imported products requires observance of conditions of reciprocity in trade agreements with third countries, and that the same safety guarantees should be demanded as for EU products;
Amendment 183 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls for a strategy to regionalise the supply chain of the most important commodities and to ensure the supply of local and sustainable animal and plant proteins;
Amendment 190 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Underscores the need for independent policymaking based on facts and values, and on the various impact studies conducted;
Amendment 199 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Considers it irresponsible that the EU continues to support environmentally harmful and cruel practices under the common agricultural policy and common fisheries policythat the EU should take the necessary measures to provide farmers and fishers with planning security, adequate financial resources and guarantees, also under the common agricultural policy and common fisheries policy, in order to maintain and, where necessary, increase food production in the EU.
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have once again demonstrated the need for the EU to strengthen its food security and reduce its dependence on imports from outside the EU; welcomes the adoption, due to the exceptional current circumstances, of temporary measures to increase EU production during the 2022/23 harvest season, which will contribute to food security in the EU;
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission to take the necessary measures to provide farmers with planning security, the appropriate financial resources and guarantees, making it possible to maintain and, if necessary, increase food production in the EU; calls on the Commission to ensure that farmland is used primarily for the production of food and feed;
Amendment 282 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes the risk that the European Green Deal could be a milestone in the EU transition to a greener and more sustainable economy, whilepose and pointings out that many of the resulting measures might have adverse effects, which have not yet been properly assessed, on EU farms and food security; calls on the Commission to carry out a comprehensive impact assessment of the cumulative impact of Green Deal legislative proposals on the EU farming sector before putting them into effect;
Amendment 303 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3
Subheading 3
EU protein and feed strategy
Amendment 315 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission to present a comprehensive EU protein and feed crops (e.g. maize) strategy that, on the one hand, focuses on domestic production in order to fully exploit its potential and reduce dependence on imports from third countries and, on the other, further safeguards income from economically sustainable production;
Amendment 351 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls for the EU to speed up the adoption of legislation on, in partnership with the Member States, to speed up research into the use of new cultivation techniques in order to increase yields and make crops more resilient to climate change and new pathogens, particularly in view of the droughts and water shortages that are afflicting an increasing number of EU Member States; points out that new cultivation targets can promote sustainable agriculture, which is not possible without innovation;
Amendment 390 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Points out that, while that space data and AI technologies can be a source of much valuable information for agriculture, it can still only be put to very limited and expensive use, as in most cases it is not freely available or is too complex to be processed by farms or local authorities; calls for increased use of such data and technologies to help farmers through the green and digital transitions, while ensuring the resilience of EU agriculture;
Amendment 419 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Regrets the blanket ban on the use of pesticides in sensitive areas being mooted by the Commission in its application of the Green Deal, since this would pose a significant threat to the livelihood of many farmers and severely limit their output. and EU food security;
Amendment 443 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. WelcomNotes the inclusion in the Commission communication on ensuring the availability and affordability of fertilisers (COM(2022)0590) of a strategy to help farmers cope with exceptionally high costs; considers, however, that while it contains many valid medium and long- term policy recommendations, it fails to provide adequate support for farmers in the current crisis, which could have very serious implications for food security;
Amendment 450 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Commission to raise the limits for the use of nitrogen fertilisers derived from animal manure, e.g. RENURE2, digestate and any other suitable, tried and tested alternatives, in line with the limits currently applicable to fertilisers; calls on the Commission to consider a temporary exemption to bring down the cost of fertilisers for now, while seeking the introduction of long-term framework provisions to promote a circular economy on farms and reduce dependence on third- country resources; also urges the Commission to revise the Nitrates Directive and the related limit of 170 kg/ha of nitrogen per year; _________________ 2 RENURE: REcovered Nitrogen from manURE (RENURE).
Amendment 485 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Reiterates the importance of supporting local production and the consumption of seasonal, local produce supplied via a short, verified supply chain that protects both small producers and consumers alike, reduces waste and losses, and is capable of delivering healthy, certified, high-quality produce at a low environmental footprint;
Amendment 492 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Calls on the Commission to safeguard the quality of products made available to consumers on the market. Further calls on the Commission to maintain adequate levels and standards of food security and supply in terms of production quantity, which must meet needs without leaving room for simplistic shortcuts with no place in traditional farming methods;