2015/2227(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Highlights that the global population is growing and is estimated to reach 9.6 billion by 2050, putting increasing pressure on the supply of food and natural resources; notes that this can also have repercussions for European farmers;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Recognises that the major challenge will be to ensure an adequate food supply while ~~at the same time preserv~~limiting the pressure on natural resources; emphasises, ing th~~e environment and valuable resources for future generations~~is regard, the potential and importance of innovation in farm management;

Amendment 100 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Underlines the importance of ~~enhanced efforts in adapting current agriculture and water management practices to~~applying sustainable farming practices to adapt to and mitigate climate change.

Amendment 101 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Underlines the importance of enhanced efforts in adapting current agriculture ~~and water management practices to climate ch~~practices to take account of the need to protect biodiversity, improve water management and revitalise rural areas.

Amendment 102 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Underlines the importance of ~~enhanced efforts in adapting current agriculture and~~ applying sustainable farming and water management practices to adapt to and mitigate climate change.

Amendment 103 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Underlines the importance of enhanced efforts in adapting current agriculture and water management practices to climate change and the need to reverse this trend; stresses the key role that farmers can play in these efforts, especially when supported structurally.

Amendment 104 #

Eleonora EVI, Marco AFFRONTE, Piernicola PEDICINI, Marco ZULLO

Draft opinion
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 105 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Calls upon the Commission and Member States to invest on technologies to increase water and energy efficiency, to reduce the dependence on fossil fuel, to include agriculture in the circular economy and to enhance animal welfare.

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Points to the importance of supporting innovations in the agricultural sector aimed at rationalising the consumption of energy, water, and other natural resources, and at linking agriculture to other economic sectors by encompassing it within existing resource and product flows or devising new flows coming under the circular economy concept;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
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 #

Eleonora EVI, Piernicola PEDICINI, Marco AFFRONTE, Marco ZULLO, Stefan ECK

Draft opinion
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 14 #

Nils TORVALDS, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Believes that this challenge requires a conducive EU policy framework, one that is grounded in clear scientific and evidence-based decision-making and recognises both the strategic importance of agriculture and the practical realities of food production;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Further emphasises that sustainability is also economically beneficial and that sustainable farm management can be a strong foundation for economic viability;

Amendment 16 #

Eleonora EVI, Marco AFFRONTE, Piernicola PEDICINI, Marco ZULLO, Stefan ECK

Draft opinion
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 #

Eleonora EVI, Marco AFFRONTE, Piernicola PEDICINI, Marco ZULLO, Stefan ECK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Stresses the need to launch educational campaign on healthy diets and habits to prevent food induced diseases;

Amendment 18 #

Aldo PATRICIELLO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Stresses the need to tackle food waste, since each year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted or lost; proposes that existing legislation be improved so as to incorporate rules providing for mandatory reuse of properly sorted food waste and that the spread of sustainable food recycling practices be encouraged;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Stresses the need to tackle food waste, since each year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted or lost; considers that, to reduce the present waste, greater cooperation is needed and farmers, producers, and distributors should enter into long-term food industry agreements making for better planning and forecasting of consumer demand;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Points out that the world’s utilised agricultural area now stands at less than 2000 m2 per person and that that area needs to produce enough food of sufficient quality to keep everyone in the world fed throughout the year;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Stresses the need to tackle food waste, since each year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted or lost, and also notes that there are 800 million people suffering from chronic hunger and nearly 2 billion who are obese or overweight;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Stresses the need to tackle food waste, since each year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted or lost; this applies to food being wasted on the field, in processing, transport and in the points of marketing as well as with consumers. Legal conditions and measures have to be put in place to make sure that food that does not reach its intended consumers is not destroyed but rather used. This could be by composting and thereby closing nutrient cycles in the best case or by making sure it is processed (e.g. use of food that is beyond ‘best before’ date);

Amendment 22 #

Eleonora EVI, Marco AFFRONTE, Piernicola PEDICINI, Marco ZULLO, Stefan ECK

Draft opinion
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 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Stresses the need to tackle food waste, since each year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted or lost, a quantity that could be used to reduce the problem of undernutrition and help the poor and needy; also points out that for every tonne of food waste avoided, approximately 4.2 tonnes of CO2 could be saved, which would have a significant impact on the environment;

Amendment 24 #

Nils TORVALDS, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Stresses the need to tackle food waste by defining the term clearly so as to allow effective action to be taken throughout the food chain (producers, processors, distributors and consumers), since each year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted or lost;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Stresses the need to tackle food waste, ~~since each year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted or lost~~and particularly systemic food waste, which should be addressed comprehensively but also through innovation solutions;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Points to the need to promote food education programmes within the family and at school so as to encourage a proper diet from childhood;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Draws Member States’ attention to the fact that the various, sometimes excessive consumer taxes on foodstuffs make it more difficult to obtain food, result in further abuses, and have a significant impact on the environment; takes the view that efforts should be made to reduce these taxes;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Considers it essential to enable unsold food still fit for consumption to be donated to charities;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Commission to promote the conclusion in Member States of agreements under which food retailers would distribute unsold food that is still fit for consumption to charitable organisations;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Recognises that the major challenge will be to ensure ~~an adequate food supply~~ the right to food while at the same time preserving the environment and valuable resources for future generations;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Points to the importance of a legal framework consistent with the circular economy principle, whereby clear guidelines could be drawn up for by- products, as distinct from waste, to be used for energy purposes, for example, and farming waste could be recycled without affecting land use;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
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 a proper income for farmers, food safety, the protection of human and animal health and a reduction in pollution ~~and greenhouse gas emissions~~;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses, therefore, the importance of supporting farmers in the transition to more sustainable agricultural practices, with the aim of safeguarding the right to food and 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 33 #

Draft opinion
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 fair access to resources, food sovereignty, food safety, the protection of human and animal health and a reduction in pollution and greenhouse gas emissions;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
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, thus mitigating the effects of climate change;

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses, therefore, the importance of supporting farmers in the transition to more sustainable agricultural practices, with the aim of increasing the efficiency of production and distribution systems and productivity while ensuring food safety, the protection of human health and animal ~~health~~welfare and a reduction in pollution and greenhouse gas emissions;

Amendment 36 #

Draft opinion
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 37 #

Draft opinion
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 productivi~~securing the right to quality food to everyone, equitable access to resources and food sovereignty while ensuring ~~food safety,~~ the protection of human and animal health and a ~~reduction in pollution and greenhouse gas emission~~sustainable use of natural resources;

Amendment 38 #

Eleonora EVI, Marco AFFRONTE, Piernicola PEDICINI, Marco ZULLO

Draft opinion
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, and the protection of ~~human and animal health and a reduction in pollution and greenhouse gas emissions~~biodiversity;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses, therefore, the importance of supporting farmers in the transition to more sustainable and humane agricultural practices, with the aim of increasing efficiency and productivity while ensuring food safety, the protection of human and animal health and welfare and a reduction in pollution and greenhouse gas emissions;

Amendment 4 #

Jean-François JALKH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Recognises that the major challenge will be to ensure a~~n adequate food supply~~ccess to sufficient healthy food while at the same time preserving the environment and valuable resources for future generations;

Amendment 40 #

Nils TORVALDS, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY

Draft opinion
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 achievement of the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2020, the protection of human and animal health, and a reduction in pollution and greenhouse gas emissions;

Amendment 41 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses, therefore, the importance of innovation in supporting farmers in the transition to more sustainable agricultural practices, with the aim of ~~increasing efficiency and productivity while~~lowering the pressure on natural resources while increasing efficiency and the quality of products and, at the same time, 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)

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 #

Eleonora EVI, Marco AFFRONTE, Piernicola PEDICINI, Marco ZULLO

Draft opinion
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 44 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Stresses that some breeding technologies like marker assisted selection (MAS) can play an important role in selecting varieties with improved taste, better resistance to biotic and abiotic stressing factors that can help further wide spread of organic farming as well as restoring endangered local varieties and species;

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Insists that farm management practices should ensure the protection of water and soil quality and ~~minimis~~promote biodiversity ~~loss~~;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Insists that good farm management practices should ensure the protection of air, water and soil quality and minimise biodiversity loss;

Amendment 47 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Insists that farm management practices should minimise biodiversity loss, ensure the protection of water ~~and soil quality and minimise biodiversity l~~quality and defend the fertility and functions of the soil by halting the uncontrolled use of land for non-agricultural purposes;

Amendment 48 #

Zoltán BALCZÓ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Insists that farm management practices should ensure the protection of water and soil quality and minimise biodiversity loss; the same objective should also be achieved by GMO-free crop production and cloning-free livestock production;

Amendment 49 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Insists that farm management practices should ensure the protection of water ~~and~~, soil quality and ~~minimise~~ biodiversity ~~loss~~;

Amendment 5 #

Aldo PATRICIELLO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Recognises that the major challenge will be to ensure an adequate food supply while at the same time preserving the environment and valuable resources for future generations; accordingly considers it essential that all Member States and the EU sign the Charter of Milan, the legacy of Expo 2015, and disseminate and observe the Charter principles;

Amendment 50 #

Eleonora EVI, Marco AFFRONTE, Piernicola PEDICINI, Marco ZULLO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Insists that farm management practices should ensure the protection of water and soil quality and ~~minimis~~promote biodiversity loss;

Amendment 51 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Insists that farm management practices should ensure the protection of water and soil quality ~~and minimise biodiversity loss~~, halt the biodiversity loss in the short period and facilitate biodiversity recovery and wide spread in the medium- long term;

Amendment 52 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Insists that farm management practices should ensure the protection of water and soil quality and ~~minimis~~promote biodiversity ~~loss~~;

Amendment 53 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Insist~~Notes that ~~farm management practices should ensure the protection~~successful farms depend on water and soil quality and biodiversity and that the good stewardship of wnat~~er and soil quality and minimise biodiversity loss~~ural resources lies in the hands of the farmers; highlights the benefits that the right incentives and the sharing of best practices in the field of sustainable farm management can bring in this regard;

Amendment 54 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Insists that farm management practices should ensure the protection of ~~water and soil quality and minimise biodiversity loss~~biodiversity while safeguarding air, water and soil quality so to guarantee the productivity and sustainability of the agricultural sector in the future;

Amendment 55 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Notes that EU policies over the years have helped to influence the market, shifting it towards large-scale agricultural and food production in which reference prices are often imposed by the large retail chains, which receive most of the economic value of the final prices, resulting in: - a loss of income and increased unemployment; - a decline in food production, turning the EU from an exporter of its own surpluses into a net importer; - an increased risk of hydrogeological instability due to land abandonment; - a loss of arable land; - a loss of biodiversity; - animal welfare implications;

Amendment 56 #

Eleonora EVI, Marco AFFRONTE, Piernicola PEDICINI, Marco ZULLO, Stefan ECK

Draft opinion
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 57 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Notes that the EU policy of heavily incentivising non-food crops at the expense of food crops poses serious problems, in terms not only of environmental sustainability but also of ethics;

Amendment 58 #

Christofer FJELLNER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Recalls that with appropriate economic incentives, fairer income distribution in the supply chain and transparent market conditions including country of origin labelling, farmers would be better equipped to implement greening measures and/or organic farming, thereby contributing to the conservation of biodiversity;deleted

Amendment 59 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Recalls that with appropriate economic incentives, fairer income distribution in the food supply chain and transparent market conditions including country of origin labelling, farmers would be ~~better equipped to implement greening measures and/or organic farming~~given the opportunity to tackle climate change more effectively and to ensure the resilience of ecosystems through more widespread use of greening, owing to measures such as crop diversification and the maintenance of ecological focus areas, organic farming and agroecology, thereby contributing to the conservation and promotion of biodiversity;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Recognises that the major challenge will be to ensure an adequate wholesome food supply while at the same time preserving the environment and valuable resources for future generations;

Amendment 60 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Recalls that with appropriate economic incentives, fairer income distribution in the supply chain and transparent market conditions including country of origin labelling and protected designations of origin, farmers would be better equipped to ~~implement greening measures and/or organic farming, thereby contributing to the conservation of biodiversity~~switch to organic farming and, at the same time, to enhance the value of their work;

Amendment 61 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Recalls that with appropriate economic incentives, the simplification of CAP measures, fairer income distribution in the supply chain and transparent market conditions ~~including country of origin labelling, farmers would be better equipped to implement greening measures and/or organic farming, thereby~~, farmers would be better equipped to deliver the necessary increase in food production and contribut~~ing~~e to the conservation of biodiversity;

Amendment 62 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Recalls that ~~with appropriate economic incentives,~~ fairer income distribution in the supply chain ~~and~~, more transparent market conditions ~~including country of origin labelling, farmers would be better equipped to implement greening measures and/or organic farming, thereby contributing to the conservation of biodiversity~~and more guidance on the implementation of CAP would encourage farmers to adopt more greening measures and/or organic farming;

Amendment 63 #

Nils TORVALDS, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Recalls that with appropriate economic incentives, fairer income distribution in the supply chain and transparent market conditions including country of origin labelling, farmers would be better equipped to ~~implement greening measures and/or organic farming, thereby contributing to the conservation of biodiversity~~help conserve biodiversity by using environment-friendly farming methods;

Amendment 64 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Recalls that ~~with~~ appropriate economic incentives, together with shorter supply chains, a fairer income distribution in the supply chain and transparent market conditions ~~including country of origin labelling,~~would enable farmers ~~would~~to be better equipped to implement greening measures and/or organic farming, thereby further contributing to the conservation of biodiversity; stresses the importance of consumer awareness and information; highlights that more transparency in the supply chains and in production can help consumers to make better informed choices about the products they are buying; this, in turn, can help farmers to earn higher revenues from their production;

Amendment 65 #

Nils TORVALDS, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Is concerned about the set-up and structure of agricultural subsidies resulting in distortions within the EU market which can lead to inadvertent consequences such as overproduction and the dumping of products on weaker regional markets; stresses that this problem must be urgently addressed;

Amendment 66 #

Eleonora EVI, Marco AFFRONTE, Piernicola PEDICINI, Marco ZULLO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – point 1 (new)

(1) Notes that badly targeted subsidies can lead to oversupply in the markets and lower incentives and the urgency to innovate; this problem therefore has not only an economic dimension in unfairly affecting competition, but also a structural one in slowing down innovative and sustainable development of the farming sector;

Amendment 67 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Underlines the need for an integration of production and processing, by promoting producers groups and encouraging short supply chains which might help in reducing the carbon footprint of the food supplying chain while providing local, fresher and healthier products for consumers;

Amendment 68 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Recognises the important role of family farms in rural life, in preserving the culture and tradition of European nations, and in producing food, and therefore advocates innovative concepts for the future common agricultural policy based on sustainable production of high- quality food;

Amendment 69 #

Draft opinion
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 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Recognises that the major challenge will be to ensure a~~n adequate~~ food supply that is adequate in terms of quality, quantity and price, while at the same time preserving the environment and valuable resources for future generations;

Amendment 70 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Is concerned that the mid-term review of the EU’s Biodiversity strategy for 2020 stressed that there has been no significant overall progress in the contribution of agriculture to maintaining and enhancing biodiversity and as result calls on the Commission and Member States to take this into account during the mid-term review of the CAP and for Member States to promote innovative policies which encourage farmers to avoid damaging and depleting natural resources;

Amendment 71 #

Christofer FJELLNER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Underlines the importance of ensuring the competitiveness of European agricultural sector, cutting red tape and reducing bureaucracy, thus enabling them to compete on the market without subsidies;

Amendment 72 #

Draft opinion
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 73 #

Eleonora EVI, Marco AFFRONTE, Piernicola PEDICINI, Marco ZULLO, Stefan ECK

Draft opinion
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)

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 75 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Believes that ~~innovation is a key factor in~~a major change in EU policies, bringing farming for food purposes back to the forefront, is a vital matter of urgency to support~~ing~~ the agri-food sector, stimulat~~ing~~e the creation of more and better jobs, and revers~~ing~~e the phenomena of land abandonment and an ageing rural population; takes the view that innovation is a key factor in this regard;

Amendment 76 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Believes that competitiveness and innovation isare a key factor in supporting the agri-food sector, stimulating the creation of more and better jobs, and reversing the phenomena of land abandonment and an ageing rural population;

Amendment 77 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Believes that innovation is a key factor in supporting the agri-food sector and keeping it competitive, stimulating the creation of more and better jobs, and reversing the phenomena of land abandonment and an ageing rural population, in addition to improving social and economic conditions for farmers, farm workers and local communities;

Amendment 78 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Believes that innovation is a key factor in supporting the agri-food sector, stimulating the creation of more and better jobs, thus helping to attract young people to the farming sector whilst at the same time preserving the traditional knowledge of farmers and animal breeders and reversing the phenomenaon of land abandonment and an ageing rural population, especially in hilly and mountainous areas, thereby also limiting the risk of hydrogeological instability;

Amendment 79 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Believes that innovation is a key factor in supporting the agri-food sector, stimulating the creation of ~~more and better~~ jobs, and reversing the phenomena of land abandonment and an ageing rural population;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Recognises that the major challenge will be to ensure an adequate ~~food supply~~access to quality food by also preventing farmers and people in rural areas from being deprived of their local agricultural capacities while at the same time preserving the environment and valuable resources for future generations;

Amendment 80 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Believes that ~~innovation~~research and innovation in agroecology is a key factor in supporting the agri-food sector, stimulating the creation of more and better jobs, and reversing the phenomena of land abandonment and land grabbing as well as an ageing rural population; regional value chains rather than EU-export orientation of agricultural products is important to strengthen farms and rural areas in the European Union as well as countries elsewhere;

Amendment 81 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Believes that innovation is a key factor in supporting the sustainability and growth of the agri-food sector, stimulating the creation of more and better jobs, ~~and~~ reversing the phenomena of land abandonment ~~and an~~, of ageing rural population as well as biodiversity loss;

Amendment 82 #

Draft opinion
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)

(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 84 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Stresses that EU policies should keep in step with innovation; points out that the biostimulant sector, which can help improve the quality and quantity of agricultural production and help conserve soil after cultivation, has not yet been harmonised at EU level;

Amendment 85 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Considers it essential in this regard to ensure that appropriate internet connections are provided in remote areas;

Amendment 86 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Considers that the enhancement of innovation and economic development in farm management must be achievable for large, medium and small-scale farmers; believes that better links between the agricultural sector and research and innovation should be facilitated in order to share and implement methods of best practice on the ground;

Amendment 87 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Stresses the significance of improving rural broadband networks as a contributory factor to enhancing innovation and economic development in farm management, particularly for medium to small-scale farmers;

Amendment 88 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Urges Member States to invest more in research and innovation programmes and to develop new technologies, including precision farming and biotechnologies, to help make agriculture attractive to young people;

Amendment 89 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Urges Member States to invest more in research and innovation programmes and to develop new technologies, including precision farming and farming activities linked to smart farming systems, to help make agriculture attractive to young people;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

Amendment 90 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Urges Member States to invest more in research and innovation programmes ~~and to develop new technologies, including precision farming, to help make agriculture attractive to young people;~~ , to strengthen links between research, industry and farms, especially small and medium-sized ones, by facilitating the exchange of best practice and transfer of research results also to such farms, which, despite being more numerous across the EU, are often excluded from innovation circuits, and to develop new technologies, including precision farming, treatment and cultivation techniques that can restrict and gradually eliminate the use of chemicals that are harmful to human and animal health, in addition to the appropriate use of water resources;

Amendment 91 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Urges the European Commission and Member States to invest more in research and innovation programmes ~~and to develop new technologies, including precision farming~~focused on agroecology and to support innovative sustainable techniques as well as to draw on traditional knowledge, to help make agriculture attractive to young people;

Amendment 92 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Urges Member States to invest more in research and innovation programmes and to develop new technologies, including precision farming, to help make agriculture attractive to young people; recognises the important contribution to be made by agricultural colleges and universities to support the development of skills for a new generation of farmers;

Amendment 93 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Urges Member States to invest ~~more~~ in research ~~and~~for innovation ~~programmes and to develop new technologies, including precision farming, to help make agriculture attractive to young people~~and to support the development of technologies that contribute to sustainable and economically viable farm management, as for example precision farming, which can help to attract young people to the farming profession; highlights the need to help farmers to access innovations and technologies and the benefits of the sharing of best practices in this regard;

Amendment 94 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Urges Member States to invest more in research and innovation programmes and to develop new technologies, including precision farming, to help make agriculture attractive to young people; stresses, in this connection, the importance of high-speed internet in rural areas, where it plays an essential role in improving farming practices, owing to the increased data handling capacity it offers;

Amendment 95 #

Eleonora EVI, Marco AFFRONTE, Piernicola PEDICINI, Marco ZULLO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Urges the Member States, in addition, to invest in protecting traditional knowledge in the agricultural sector and to promote exchanges between different generations of farmers and between communities in different countries;

Amendment 96 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Urges Member States to launch programs to encourage farmers to invest on species differentiation, to grow local varieties and to abandon monocultures;

Amendment 97 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Notes that the link between innovation and traditional farming knowledge remains a key component for the sound economic development of European farming and the future of sustainable farm management in Europe;

Amendment 98 #

Eleonora EVI, Marco AFFRONTE, Piernicola PEDICINI, Marco ZULLO, Stefan ECK

Draft opinion
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

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;

source: 572.935

2016/01/21 AGRI 312 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)

- having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007,

Amendment 10 #

Viorica DĂNCILĂ

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

Amendment 100 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that agriculture has always developed new practices, techniques and production methods that have increased outputs and improved the adaptability of farming practices to new and changing circumstances; notes further that although agriculture is ~~a key part of our natural world which thus~~not natural per se, it can work with nature rather than against it to reduce its impact and also make farming easier , so providesing services that go beyond producing food and can be enhanced by fostering new developments; is convinced that innovation is a prerequisite for maintaining this progress;

Amendment 101 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that agriculture has always developed new practices, techniques and production methods that have increased outputs ~~and~~, improved the adaptability of farming practices to new and changing circumstances and cut production costs; notes further that agriculture is a key part of our natural world which thus provides services that go beyond producing food and can be enhanced by fostering new developments; is convinced that innovation is a prerequisite for maintaining this progress;

Amendment 102 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that agriculture has always developed new practices, techniques and production methods ~~that have increased outputs and improved the adaptability of farming practices to new and changing circumstances~~; notes further that agriculture is a key part of our natural world which thus provides services that go beyond producing food and can be enhanced by fostering ~~new developments; is convinced that innovation is a prerequisite for maintaining this progress~~research and innovation based on agroecology;

Amendment 103 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that agriculture has always developed new practices, techniques and production methods that have increased outputs and improved the adaptability of farming practices to new and changing circumstances; notes further that agriculture is a key part of our natural world which thus provides services - such as ecosystem services and protecting biodiversity and nature - that go beyond producing food and can be enhanced by fostering new developments; is convinced that innovation is a prerequisite for maintaining this progress;

Amendment 104 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that agriculture has always developed new practices, techniques and production methods that have increased outputs and improved the adaptability of farming practices to new and changing circumstances; notes further that agriculture is a key part of our natural world which thus provides services that go beyond producing food and can be enhanced by fostering new developments; ~~is convinced that innovation is a prerequisite for maintaining this progress~~believes that the missing element of years of progression is the ability of farming to provide a standard of living that would make it an attractive option to young farmers, is convinced therefore that innovation must be used to benefit all actors in the food chain;

Amendment 105 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Welcomes the new direction taken with the EIPs to allow for participatory innovation involving communities of rural practitioners, especially those aiming for sustainable agronomic and agro-ecological practices ; calls on MS to provide more participative schemes integrated with advice or extension services and to encourage greater uptake among farmers and groups of farmers; Calls upon the Member States and Commission to work together to ensure the simplest possible procedures for participation;

Amendment 106 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Considers that innovation is an important factor in the changes that will affect agriculture and that it is a factor in the new economy based on knowledge, intelligence and development sustainability, aided by the revival of lost knowledge and the pragmatic observation of operators in the field;

Amendment 107 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Points out the importance of maintaining the common agricultural policy’s focus on supporting family farming businesses as the cornerstone of agricultural production in the future;

Amendment 108 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Considers that innovation is essential for improvement in labour productivity and income in agriculture because it allows value-added to be created and shared and the quantity and quality of goods and services produced to be increased, but also because it helps to reduce certain production costs and make businesses more efficient (inputs, investment, etc.) and sometimes more self- sufficient, thus reducing certain risks in respect of their supplies;

Amendment 109 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the UN’'s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that the expected rise in the world’'s population to 9.1 billion by 2050 will require a 60 % increase in food ~~production~~supply and a 24 % increase in crop yields in the developed countries by that date; whereas the FAO also estimates that there will be only a 4.3 % increase in arable land by 2050; whereas between 30-50% of the food produced in the EU is wasted, and although it is difficult to measure and it occurs at varying rates according to sector and occurs at different stages of the production and supply chain in different parts of the world there is some consensus that the global average of food waste is around 30%;

Amendment 110 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Is strongly convinced that economic development and sustainable production are not mutually exclusive and are achievable mainly through innovation; 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 account 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 and more demanding world population; welcomes the Commission initiative on the assessment of the contribution of the 2012 Bioeconomy Strategy to the circular economy because a shift from fossil based to bio based products is essential to promote the transition of the economy from a fossil based linear economy to a circular economy based on renewable materials;

Amendment 111 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Is strongly convinced that economic development and sustainable production are not mutually exclusive and are achievable mainly through research and development and innovation; stresses the need to support innovati~~on in~~ve technologyies and ~~governance~~management by providing regulatory coherence, clarity and room for entrepreneurship, and urges the Commission to ensure that innovation is explicitly taken into account 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 and more demanding world population;

Amendment 112 #

Philippe LOISEAU, Laurenţiu REBEGA, Edouard FERRAND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Is strongly convinced that economic development and sustainable production are not mutually exclusive and are achievable mainly through innovation; stresses the need to support innovation not only in technology ~~and governance~~, but also in governance and business models, by providing regulatory coherence, clarity and room for entrepreneurship, and urges the Commission to ensure that innovation is explicitly taken into account 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 and more demanding world population;

Amendment 113 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

Amendment 114 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

Amendment 115 #

Michel DANTIN, Angélique DELAHAYE, Marc TARABELLA, Eric ANDRIEU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Is strongly convinced that economic development and sustainable production are not mutually exclusive and are achievable mainly through innovation, in particular in the field of agronomy; 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 account 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 and more demanding world population;

Amendment 116 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Is strongly convinced that economic development and sustainable production are not mutually exclusive and are achievable mainly through innovation; stresses the need to support innovation in technical production methods, new technologyies and human governance by adapting the content of public policies such as the CAP and research and development – support which must be achieved by providing regulatory coherence, clarity and room for entrepreneurship, – and urges the Commission to ensure that innovation is explicitly taken into account 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 and services together with profitable~~, knowledge-based solutions in order to feed a growing and more demanding world population~~ and sustainable solutions based on a knowledge-based economy and society as set out in the Europe 2020 strategy;

Amendment 117 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Is strongly convinced that economic development ~~and~~must be based on sustainable production a~~re not mutually exclusive and are~~nd is achievable mainly through ~~innovation~~agroecology; 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 account~~agroecological 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 an~~with which to feed Europe’s population, giving priority to the production of food mfor~~e demanding world population~~ the internal market;

Amendment 118 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Considers that, in order to respond to the key challenges for agriculture, the CAP should be overhauled so as to allow the sustainable development of European agriculture; to produce in large quantity and with better quality requires major adjustments based on changes in production models and taking greater account of the resources of each ecosystem, and these changes need to be able to be based on innovative practices carried out by farmers themselves, on their own or in partnerships with other actors, for example research bodies; these experiences should be evaluated and taken into greater account in greening the CAP; other innovations of this kind should be sought with additional resources via the measure on the European Innovation Partnership on Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability in agriculture and forestry, which was introduced by the last CAP reform within the second pillar;

Amendment 119 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Feels that increasing the competitiveness of European agriculture should be achieved through innovations aimed at further raising the quality of produced food and agricultural products while ensuring that a sufficient quantity is produced in line with the principles of sustainability;

Amendment 12 #

Luke Ming FLANAGAN

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that the expected rise in the world’s population to 9.1 billion by 2050 will require a 60 % increase in food production and a 24 % increase in crop yields in the developed countries by that date; whereas the FAO also estimates that there will be only a 4.3 % increase in arable land by 2050, believes that one of the most effective ways of meeting this anticipated demand while not depleting scares resources is by harnessing innovation to tackling food waste, currently estimated to be in the region of 100 million tons within the EU and according to the FAO at around 33% globally;

Amendment 120 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Is firmly convinced that the EU budget for the common agricultural policy must be maintained at least at its current level in order to achieve the policy's objectives and promote research and development and innovation; takes the view that the CAP budget must not be cut when the mid-term review of the 7-year financial framework takes place, and neither must new provisions be adopted which result in an increase in the financial and administrative burden on farmers;

Amendment 121 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Hopes that greater recognition can be given to the role of young farmers, since they are the main vectors of innovation in agriculture; calls on the Commission, therefore, to consider what tools are available to encourage not only the establishment of new young farmers but also the development of their innovative business ideas;

Amendment 122 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Takes in to account the fact that the EU market for food and agriculture is one of the most integrated markets in Europe and urges the commission, in order to create economic development for the agricultural and food sector in all member states, to create and secure regulations creating a more levelled playing field and creating fare competition;

Amendment 123 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Recalls that between 30-50% of the food produced in the EU is wasted, and although it is difficult to measure and it occurs at varying rates according to sector and occurs at different stages of the production and supply chain in different parts of the world there is some consensus that the global average of food waste is around 30%; Urges for a better management of food produces to avoid food waste;

Amendment 124 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. European public policy must provide more support for innovation by funding risk-taking ventures by innovators, by making arrangements for access to and the widest possible dissemination of knowledge and data and by setting up initial and ongoing training (including apprenticeships) for all so that everyone can take up the new practices and technologies; innovation also has an important social component consisting of mobilising and creating synergies between stakeholders around common and shared themes and projects; this strategy of cooperation and alliances will boost confidence in the future and give momentum to development so as to meet not only the challenges faced now but also the wider expectations and new needs of our societies;

Amendment 125 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2 b. Feels it necessary to improve existing forms of promoting European agricultural products and to devise new ones similar to the system for the protection of geographical indications and the labelling of origin of agricultural produce, or organic production;

Amendment 126 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Highlights the innovative potential of social agriculture, in terms of services to local people and communities, which can increase the attractiveness of rural areas and help generate new income flows for farms;

Amendment 127 #

Motion for a resolution
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 that lead~~ing~~ to more efficient use of natural resources, increased crop performance, reduction of the environmental footprint, better understanding of animal behaviour, and improved animal health and welfare;

Amendment 128 #

Motion for a resolution
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 to~~designed to promote progress towards agroecology, which inter alia could mean more efficient use of natural resources, ~~increased crop performance~~better crops, reduction of the environmental footprint, better understanding of animal behaviour, and improved animal health and welfare;

Amendment 129 #

Jan HUITEMA

Motion for a resolution
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 to more efficient use of natural resources, increased crop performance, reduction of the environmental footprint, better understanding of animal behaviour, and improved animal health and welfare and which could contribute to more effective, less burdensome control systems;

Amendment 13 #

Michel DANTIN, Angélique DELAHAYE, Marc TARABELLA, Eric ANDRIEU

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas food sovereignty is a key element to allow the different regions of the world to produce the necessary agricultural products to feed themselves ; whereas it is the responsibility of the EU to improve its own agriculture by decreasing its own food resources footprint, e.g. by decreasing dependency on inputs like soya from deforested tropical forest, and by ceasing land grabbing and dumping on sensitive markets;

Amendment 130 #

Motion for a resolution
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 to more efficient use of natural resources, increased crop performance, reduction of the environmental footprint, efficient accounting of CO2 storage by agricultural land, especially fields and hedgerows, and the associated benefits, better understanding of animal behaviour, and improved animal health and welfare;

Amendment 131 #

Motion for a resolution
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 to more efficient use of natural resources, increased crop performance, reduction of the environmental footprint, better understanding of animal behaviour, and improved animal health and welfare; highlights that the EU should promote faster and reliable rural internet access in order to have a good rural connectivity;

Amendment 132 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Notes that in 2013, the USA-based multinational Monsanto purchased the Climate Corporation, which owns the data of the farmers using precision farming technology; Calls on the Commission warns not to take such an approach in the EU;

Amendment 133 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

Amendment 134 #

Viorica DĂNCILĂ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Draws attention to the fact that the more extensive use of ICT could help improve the monitoring of several production stages and optimise their management, with the aim of increasing output in relation to the utilisation of means of production while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption; stresses, likewise, that the more extensive use of ICT, the incorporation of policies to promote training for farmers in new technologies and support for innovation and entrepreneurship among young farmers, in particular, are key factors for making farming more environmentally sustainable and the sector more competitive;

Amendment 135 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Notes that "big data" and precision farming technologies will not be appropriate in smaller holdings, with farmers who are already suffering from enormous debts, or in mountainous regions of the EU; Calls therefore for more focus to be put on the smaller, family farms, and farms in disadvantaged regions, which are essential for land management especially in upland areas, but many of which do not even benefit from internet or telecoms connectivity; emphasises that this telecoms connectivity is essential to avoid rural depopulation in marginalised areas and to create vibrant rural communities and economies;

Amendment 136 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Is convinced that information gathered by robotics, sensor technology, automatic control and other technological innovations in the context of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and Big Data will enable real-time monitoring, better decision-making, and improved operations management along the whole food chain; welcomes the creation of the Alliance for Internet of Things Innovation (AIOTI) Working Group 06 on ‘smart farming and food safety’, and stresses in this respect the importance and relevance of the European Digital Single Market for agriculture in terms of tackling problems of interoperability, standards for better convergence and questions of data ownership;deleted

Amendment 137 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Is convinced that information gathered by robotics, sensor technology, automatic control and other technological innovations in the context of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and Big Data will enable real- time monitoring, better decision-making, and improved operations management along the whole food chain; welcomes the creation of the Alliance for Internet of Things Innovation (AIOTI) Working Group 06 on ‘smart farming and food safety’, and stresses in this respect the importance and relevance of the European Digital Single Market for agriculture in terms of tackling problems of interoperability, standards for better convergence and questions of data ownership;

Amendment 138 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Is convinced that information gathered by robotics, sensor technology, automatic control and other technological innovations in the context of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and Big Data will enable real- time monitoring, better decision-making, and improved operations management along the whole food chain; welcomes the creation of the Alliance for Internet of Things Innovation (AIOTI) Working Group 06 on ‘smart farming and food safety’, and stresses in this respect the importance and relevance of the European Digital Single Market for agriculture in terms of tackling problems of interoperability, standards for better convergence and questions of data ownership; considers that this single digital market is extremely important for all rural regions, especially those that are most remote;

Amendment 139 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Is convinced that information gathered by robotics, sensor technology, automatic control and other technological innovations in the context of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and Big Data will enable real- time monitoring, better decision-making, and improved operations management along the whole food chain; welcomes the creation of the Alliance for Internet of Things Innovation (AIOTI) Working Group 06 on ‘smart farming and food safety’, and stresses in this respect the importance and relevance of the European Digital Single Market for agriculture in terms of tackling problems of interoperability, standards for better convergence and questions of ~~data~~ ownership of, access to and use of personal and non- personal data;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas it is not the responsibility of the EU to feed the world, but rather to allow food sovereignty so that regions of the Earth can feed themselves; whereas it is the responsibility of the EU to put its own house in order by decreasing its own food resources footprint, e.g. by decreasing dependency on inputs like soya from deforested tropical forest, and by ceasing land grabbing and dumping on sensitive markets;

Amendment 140 #

Daniel BUDA, Viorica DĂNCILĂ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Is concerned at the low level of awareness concerning the potential of Big Data and IoT and the fragmentation of the related technology systems, which increase the barriers to uptake and slow down deployment, and is disappointed at the slow take up of GPS technologies; notes that in the EU currently only 10 % of aided guidance, less than 1 % of real time kinematic movement and less than 1 % of variable rate application techniques are being used; encourages the Commission to quantify environmental and production benefit and to ensure awareness, knowledge and technology transfers;deleted

Amendment 141 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

Amendment 142 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Is concerned at the low level of awareness concerning the potential of Big Data and IoT and the fragmentation of the related technology systems, which increase the barriers to uptake and slow down deployment, and is disappointed at the slow take up of GPS technologies; highlights the importance of making these technologies meaningful to the farmers; notes that in the EU currently only 10 % of aided guidance, less than 1 % of real time kinematic movement and less than 1 % of variable rate application techniques are being used; encourages the Commission to quantify environmental and production benefit and to ensure awareness, knowledge and technology transfers;

Amendment 143 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Considers it desirable that ensuring entrepreneurial freedom should where possible not go hand in hand with large- scale reductions in the Member States' ability to regulate the ownership and use of agricultural land;

Amendment 144 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

Amendment 145 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

Amendment 146 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Encourages the uptake of precision agriculture that provides new whole-farm management approaches, such as GPS/GNSS-technology driven machinery which, in combination with Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPASs, or drones) , can work arable land to the nearest centimetre; agrees that these techniques could significantly reduce both the use of plant protection products and fertiliser and water use, and combat soil erosion~~; calls on the Commission to remove the barriers to adopting precision farming~~, whilst recognising the constraints and adaptability of this technology to smaller and irregular farming types; calls on the Commission to remove the barriers to adopting precision farming to ensure that the benefits of this technology are available to all our farmers, in particular those linked to complex and fragmented ICT systems and investment level issues; encourages Member States to support these practices, in particular by using the opportunities under the new rural development rules under Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 and to make full use of the EC-EIB financial instruments to reduce the investment needs and risks for farmers wishing to adopt these technologies;

Amendment 147 #

Stanislav POLČÁK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Encourages the uptake of precision agriculture that provides new whole-farm management approaches, such as GPS/GNSS-technology driven machinery which, in combination with Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPASs, or drones) , can work arable land to the nearest centimetre; agrees that these techniques could significantly reduce both the use of plant protection products and fertiliser and water use, and combat soil erosion; calls on the Commission to remove the barriers to adopting precision farming, in particular those linked to complex and fragmented ICT systems and investment level issues; encourages Member States to support these practices, in particular by using the opportunities under the new rural development rules under Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013; calls on the Commission to take account, in future revisions of the common agricultural policy, of the use of precision farming be farmers in the context of the greening of direct payments, and to exempt farmers implementing a system of precision farming from the obligation to fulfil ecological interest requirements;

Amendment 148 #

Jean-Paul DENANOT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Encourages the uptake of precision agriculture that provides new whole-farm management approaches, such as GPS/GNSS-technology driven machinery which, in combination with Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPASs, or drones) , can work arable land to the nearest centimetre; agrees that these techniques could significantly reduce both the use of plant protection products and fertiliser and water use, and combat soil erosion; calls on the Commission to remove the barriers to adopting precision farming, in particular those linked to complex and fragmented ICT systems and investment level issues; notes that precision agriculture is also important in stock farming as a means of monitoring animal health, nutrition and yield; encourages Member States to support these practices, in particular by using the opportunities under the new rural development rules under Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013; stresses the importance of ensuring that all farms, including those in remote and outlying regions and the smallest farms, and all others involved in rural agriculture have access to multipurpose technologies, given the need to maintain and increase employment levels in those most vulnerable areas;

Amendment 149 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Encourages the EU to work on a more consistent and effective approach to digital and precision farming, to improve the alignment of the various policies concerned; calls on the various Directorates-General of the Commission – AGRI, GROW, ENVI, CONNECT and JRC – therefore, to liaise more closely in their work, as part of a joint task force, with the aim of framing a European political strategy that is able to promote digital and precision farming and improve broadband infrastructure in rural parts of Europe, to enable them to manage rapidly growing data flows;

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas in many parts of the world it's unrealistic to bring new agricultural land into use, without threatening biodiversity. Over-exploitation of farmland could impoverish the soil and, in the worst case scenario, lead to erosion and desertification;

Amendment 150 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Urges the Commission to encourage every innovative way to make the agri- food sector more efficient, including the promotion of direct marketing of agricultural and agri-food products by farmers, emphasising their quality and economic, social, and environmental sustainability;

Amendment 151 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Welcomes the increased use of RPASs for farming purposes, since this can lead to savings in crop protection material and water usage; notes that a proposal for legislation is forthcoming in the revision of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)’s basic regulation, so that all drones would fall under EU competence; calls on the Commission to ensure that there are clear and unambiguous EU- wide standards and rules for the civil use of RPASs and that forthcoming legislation takes into account the specific conditions under which drones operate in agriculture;deleted

Amendment 152 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Welcomes the increased use of RPASs for farming purposes, since this can lead to savings in crop protection material and water usage; notes that a proposal for legislation is forthcoming in the revision of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)’s basic regulation, so that all drones would fall under EU competence; calls on the Commission to ensure that there arecalls on the Commission to encourage the Member States and their competent authorities to apply clear and unambiguous ~~EU-wide~~ standards and rules for the civil use of RPASs and th~~at forthcoming legislation takes into account the specific conditions under which drones operat~~eir specific use in agriculture;

Amendment 153 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Highlights the importance of new innovative and affordable solutions for the agricultural sector to increase the usage of more environmentally friendly methods, goods and resources, among which could be noted new growing- methods and field management but also ways of increase the usage of renewable energy and ways of phasing out the need for fossil-based fuels;

Amendment 154 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 155 #

Maria NOICHL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 156 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 157 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 158 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Encourages innovative solutions ~~in animal housing systems~~ that can contribute to a higher level of animal health and welfare and consequently lead to higher levels of animal health, by reducing the need for veterinary medicinal products, including antimicrobials; stresses that the application of antimicrobials should be prudent and responsible and would be improved by improving the entire production chain with more efficient and faster diagnostic tools that rely on data, better real-time monitoring, targeted precautionary measures and new ways of dispensing in order to combat antimicrobial resistance;

Amendment 159 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Encourages innovative solutions in animal husbandry and housing systems that can contribute to a higher level of animal welfare and consequently lead to higher levels of animal health, by reducing the need for veterinary medicinal products, including antimicrobials; stresses that the application of antimicrobials should be prudent and responsible and would be improved by improving the entire production chain with more efficient and faster diagnostic tools that rely on data, better real-time monitoring, targeted precautionary measures and new ways of dispensing in order to combat antimicrobial resistance;

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas land everywhere faces a drop-off in intrinsic productivity and fertility caused by land degradation, especially soil erosion, due to loss of ecosystem functions such as topsoil formation, humification, pollination, water retention and nutrient cycling;

Amendment 160 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Encourages innovative solutions in animal housing systems and energy efficiency in buildings used for animal husbandry, that can contribute to a higher level of animal welfare and consequently lead to higher levels of animal health, by reducing the need for veterinary medicinal products, including antimicrobials; stresses that the application of antimicrobials should be prudent and responsible and would be improved by improving the entire production chain with more efficient and faster diagnostic tools that rely on data, better real-time monitoring, targeted precautionary measures and new ways of dispensing in order to combat antimicrobial resistance;

Amendment 161 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Encourages innovative solutions in animal housing systems that can contribute to a higher level of animal welfare and consequently lead to higher levels of animal health, by reducing the need for veterinary medicinal products, including antimicrobials; stresses that the application of antimicrobials should be prudent and responsible and would be improved by improving the entire production chain with more efficient and faster diagnostic tools that rely on data, better real-time monitoring, targeted precautionary measures and new ways of dispensing in order to combat antimicrobial resistance; notwithstanding the evident welfare and health benefits of extensive pasture-based grazing systems, innovative solutions are needed for capturing emissions of gasses detrimental for human and plant health (NH3, NOx) and also those with warming potential (NOx, CH4); in particular the methane greenhouse gas emissions from slurry pits and lagoons or manure heaps could be captured for autonomous energy production in rural areas, combined with techniques to separate liquids from solids in order to prevent hazardous and GHG emissions; further calls for more innovative focus to be placed upon the diffuse pollution and emissions from farming, especially at the interfaces of aquatic environments and groundwater filtration zones; calls for innovative approaches to be considered with Ecological Focus Areas, existing and new landscape elements, and rural development schemes, to allow for example strategic reed bed filtration or buffers to reduce eutrophication; considers that such an approach will also secure income for farms and rural areas and allow energy independence and more control over farm production costs, while saving costs to society by reducing animals and plants health impacts as well as mitigating climate change;

Amendment 162 #

Hannu TAKKULA, Petri SARVAMAA, Paavo VÄYRYNEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 163 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 164 #

Michel DANTIN, Angélique DELAHAYE, Marc TARABELLA, Eric ANDRIEU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Supports extensive animal husbandry methods and calls for the development of innovative technologies for the accurate assessment of the environmental benefits of grassland and pastures maintained by this type of farming and recognising the benefits thereof as a complement to crop production;

Amendment 165 #

Philippe LOISEAU, Laurenţiu REBEGA, Edouard FERRAND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Points out that better regulations for animal housing in order to higher the level of animal welfare and health creating a more level playing field within the union is an important step to fight antimicrobial resistance as better animal welfare can substantially decreases the need to use antimicrobial substances;

Amendment 166 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Welcomes the production of animal protein for feed and food through growing insects that can deliver an efficient conversion of organic residual streams into protein and nutrients with a lower climate impact and using less water than most conventional farm animals; is concerned that the current legislation on processed animal protein does not take into account the specificities of the production process for insects, since use of insect proteins is obstructed by outdated regulatory frameworks that make slaughterhouse requirement applicable to insects; urges the Commission to clarify this issue;deleted

Amendment 167 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

Amendment 168 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Welcomes the innovatory production of plant and animal protein for feed and food ~~through~~; notes that, in strategic terms, this would significantly reduce EU dependence on outside supply and that, in technical terms, it requires the availability of crop varieties that can be grown in our climate, thereby promoting biodiversity, soil improvement through more diversified crop rotation and greater farm supply autonomy, involving also growing insects that can deliver an efficient conversion of organic residual streams into protein and nutrients with a lower climate impact and using less water than most conventional farm animals; is concerned that the current legislation on processed animal protein does not take into account the specificities of the production process for insects, since use of insect proteins is obstructed by outdated regulatory frameworks that make slaughterhouse requirement applicable to insects; urges the Commission to clarify this issue;

Amendment 169 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Welcomes the growing reuse and innovative methods of use and production of animal protein for feed and food, inter alia through growing insects that can deliver an efficient conversion of organic residual streams into protein and nutrients with a lower climate impact and using less water than most conventional farm animals; is concerned that the current legislation on processed animal protein does not take into account the specificities of the production process for insects, since use of insect proteins is obstructed by outdated regulatory frameworks that make slaughterhouse requirement applicable to insects; urges the Commission to ~~clarify this issue;~~ remove all possible obstacles in accordance with its ambition for Better Regulation and avoidance of unnecessary bureaucratic and legal burdens;

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas between 30-50% of the food produced in the EU is wasted, and although it is difficult to measure and it occurs at varying rates according to sector and occurs at different stages of the production and supply chain in different parts of the world there is some consensus that the global average of food waste is around 30%;

Amendment 170 #

Jørn DOHRMANN, James NICHOLSON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Points to the importance of recovering animal protein within the production cycle; calls on the Commission, therefore, to draw up measures to promote the recycling of agricultural waste by encouraging the recovery of protein for feed;

Amendment 171 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Emphasises the importance of understanding and improving the production systems with focus on developing crops, crop rotation systems, management systems and landscape values;

Amendment 172 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Urges the development and adoption of methods and technologies, such as aquaponics and hydroponics, which optimise the productive cycle, reduce expenditure on land and resources and have a low impact on the environment and environmental resources;

Amendment 173 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Stresses the need to tackle food waste, and in particular systemic food waste, since each year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted or lost; Considers that, to reduce the present waste, greater cooperation is needed between farmers, producers, and distributors; Urges Member States to find innovative ways to tackle food waste, such as, for example, the distribution of unsold food to charitable organisations if it is still fit for consumption, or if not, its reuse in the nutrient cycle, through composting; points to the need to promote food education programmes within the family and at school so as to encourage a proper diet from childhood;

Amendment 174 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Urges the Commission to promote land access policies for small and medium-sized farms and to foster animal production based on pastureland, fodder and the production of plant protein, and to promote research and innovation in relation to the sustainable production of plant protein;

Amendment 175 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Emphasises the enormous potential of technology and innovation for the development of new products and services 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, rural repopulation and economic growth, and considers that developing modern 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 new production methods;

Amendment 176 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Emphasises the enormous potential of technology and innovation for the development of new products and services 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 modern agricultural practices will make agriculture more attractive to young farmers and entrepreneurs alike and also help to combat rural depopulation; points in addition to the need to preserve traditional knowledge and the material contribution provided through the day-to-day work of farmers and stockbreeders; 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 new production methods;

Amendment 177 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Emphasises the enormous potential of technology and innovation for the development of new products and services 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, encouraging populations to remain in situ and ensuring social cohesion; and considers that developing modern agricultural practices will make agriculture more attractive to young farmers and entrepreneurs alike and offer women greater opportunities for entering the labour market; 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 new production methods;

Amendment 178 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Emphasises the enormous potential of technology and innovation for the development of new products and services and ~~job~~the creation of permanent, high- quality jobs 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 modern 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 new production methods;

Amendment 179 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Emphasises the enormous potential of ~~technology~~research and innovation for the development of ~~new products and services~~a 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 ~~modern~~environmentally 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 ~~new~~agroecological production methods;

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)

Ac. whereas land everywhere faces a drop-off in intrinsic productivity and fertility caused by land degradation, especially soil erosion, due to loss of ecosystem functions such as topsoil formation, humification, pollination, water retention and nutrient cycling ; whereas there is a broad consensus that to resolve this and maintain and improve productivity, we need to innovatively increase delivery of such ecosystem functions to ensure resilience against climate change ;

Amendment 180 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Emphasises the enormous potential of technology and innovation for the development of new ~~products and services~~goods and products (relating to food and feed, machinery, biochemistry, biocontrol...) 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 modern 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 new production methods;

Amendment 181 #

Daniel BUDA, Viorica DĂNCILĂ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Emphasises the enormous potential of technology and innovation for the development of new products and services and job creation along the whole agri-food value chain; acknowledges also the role of technology and innovation in improving farmers' living and working conditions; highlights the creation of new jobs in the agricultural sector, which is of pivotal importance for rural development, and considers that developing modern 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 new production methods;

Amendment 182 #

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Emphasises the ~~enormous~~untapped potential of technology and innovation for the development of new products and services ~~and job creation~~which may have the potential to create employment along the ~~whole~~ agri-food value chain; highlights the potential creation of new jobs in the agricultural sector, which is of pivotal importance for rural development, and considers that developing modern 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 new production methods;

Amendment 183 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Emphasises the enormous potential of technology and innovation for the development of new products and services and job creation along the whole agri-food value chain; nevertheless draws attention to the fact that innovation and technologisation leads to job losses in traditional agricultural occupations and calls on the Commission and Member States to provide training and retraining courses for workers in the agricultural sectors affected; highlights the creation of new jobs in the agricultural sector, which is of pivotal importance for rural development, and considers that developing modern 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 new production methods;

Amendment 184 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Is of the opinion that new information technologies provide ample opportunities to establish new value chains, which could include, for example, more direct contact between producers and consumers, with a stronger focus on innovative products, new services and more production differentiation, with the potential to provide new income streams for farmers as well establishing a more transparent marketplace that will be of benefit to farmers and extend their potential reach; stresses in this connection the need to invest in the development of broadband internet access and иrges the Commission and Member States to award priority to projects for developing digital infrastructure in rural areas;

Amendment 185 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Is of the opinion that new information technologies provide ample opportunities to establish new value chains, which could include, for example, more direct contact between producers and consumers, limiting food wastage, with a stronger focus on innovative products, new services and more production differentiation, with the potential to provide new income streams for farmers as well establishing a more transparent marketplace that will be of benefit to farmers and extend their potential reach

Amendment 186 #

Daniel BUDA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Is of the opinion that new information technologies provide ample opportunities to establish new value chains, which could include, for example, more direct contact between producers and consumers, with a stronger focus on innovative products, new services and more production differentiation, with the potential to provide new income streams for farmers as well establishing a more transparent marketplace that will be of benefit to farmers and extend their potential reach; welcomes the investments made in broadband internet in rural areas both in the shape of facilitating access to information and by creating platforms for the development of applications in the field of agriculture.

Amendment 187 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Is of the opinion that new information technologies provide ample opportunities to establish new value chains, which could include, for example, more direct contact between producers and consumers, with a stronger focus on innovative products, new services and more production differentiation, with the potential to provide new income streams for farmers as well establishing a more transparent marketplace that will be of benefit to farmers and extend their potential reach, and calls on the Commission to ensure that union-regulations as much as possible supports these opportunities;

Amendment 188 #

Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI, Beata GOSIEWSKA, Zbigniew KUŹMIUK, Stanisław OŻÓG, Jadwiga WIŚNIEWSKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Is alarmed at the weakness of current CAP crisis provisions; calls on the Commission to introduce mechanisms such as minimum prices for European agricultural products; finally, urges it to conduct a global review of ways to ensure fairer margin sharing between producers, processors and distributors;

Amendment 189 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Highlights that a sizeable proportion of bio~~tic~~ waste is~~treams 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 ~~facilitat~~carry out a review of trade rules with a view to introducing solutions to rationalise the cross-border circulation of goods and services, and to improve synergy and coherence with other EU policies;

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas according to the UN, if the sustainable development goals (SDGs) are to be achieved agricultural productivity will have to double by 2030, while simultaneously the agri-food sector will have to adapt to climate change and changing weather conditions and improve ecosystem and soil quality; whereas four out of the eight UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are connected to agriculture;deleted

Amendment 190 #

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 policies;

Amendment 191 #

Motion for a resolution
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 and clear rules 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 policies;

Amendment 192 #

Motion for a resolution
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 measures under the rural development programmes, to facilitate cross-border circulation and to improve synergy and coherence with other EU policies;

Amendment 193 #

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~~underutilisation of other resources from biomass, such as agricultural by- products and waste streams, and encourages the Commission to support their reuse in the energy sector and elsewhere by facilitating EU-wide recognition systems and special rural development programmes, that could involve farmers and other stakeholders such as the local authorities in small- scale projects; notes that the recognition systems and special rural development programmes could also facilitate cross- border circulation and to improve synergy and coherence with other EU policies;

Amendment 194 #

Motion for a resolution
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, reuse of animal lipids, enzymes and proteins from residues in the food industry, 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 policies;

Amendment 195 #

Hannu TAKKULA, Petri SARVAMAA, Paavo VÄYRYNEN

Motion for a resolution
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 196 #

Motion for a resolution
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 and usage of the surplus of the manure as a renewable energy source; 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 policies;

Amendment 197 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12a. Stresses the need to curb land- grabbing and to set up public bodies to ensure access to land for people wishing to take up farming and for small and medium-sized farms;

Amendment 198 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12a. Notes the current dependency on imported soya for animal feed and recognises that this environment footprint is unsustainable; recognises the value of pasture-fed grazing systems; calls for innovative approaches to surplus milk volumes that does not rely on dumping, but that involve and empower producers to control their own production including commonly agreed and widely respected voluntary reduction production volumes to keep market prices high ; calls for innovative approaches to encourage home-grown alternatives to soya, including finding optimal rotations with leguminous crops, and encourages MS to help farmers to do this via extension and advice services funded under the CAP, or undersowing with grain legumes on temporary grasslands, especially using local European varieties including alfalfa, vetch clover, lupins, peas, etc.; calls for resuscitation of the leguminous seed breeding sector so that locally adapted plants can be grown ; calls for the abolition therefore of the outdated Blair House agreement as negotiated in the GATT that limits EU protein production volumes; calls on MS to use rural development opportunities to support and stimulate regional market in locally-grown protein crops especially leguminous plants;

Amendment 199 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Is concerned that the EU is highly dependent on the import of minerals for the production of artificial fertilisers such as phosphate and that the production of artificial fertilisers has a high ecological footprint; emphasises the possibility of processing animal manure into mineral concentrate that could be used to manufacture ‘green fertiliser’ that can reduce and eventually replace the need for artificial fertilisers, in the light of an efficiency level comparable to that of the latter; welcomes the fact that the production and use of mineral concentrates makes a significant contribution to the circular economy by closing the mineral loop, and asks the Commission to revise the EU fertiliser regulation ~~and remove barriers in the nitrates directive~~ so as to stimulate the development of mineral concentrate from animal manure;

Amendment 2 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)

– having regard to the UN's International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development of the FAO, GEF, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, the World Bank and WHO,

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas according to the UN, if the sustainable development goals (SDGs) are to be achieved agricultural productivity will have to double by 2030, while simultaneously the agri-food sector will have to adapt to climate change and changing weather conditions and improve ecosystem and soil quality, and whereas, in order to achieve this, priority must be given to the use of microbiological preparations which increase soil life; whereas four out of the eight UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are connected to agriculture;

Amendment 200 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Is concerned that the EU is highly dependent on the import of minerals for the production of artificial fertilisers such as phosphate and that the production of artificial fertilisers has a high ecological footprint; emphasises the possibility of processing animal manure into mineral concentrate that could be used to manufacture ‘green fertiliser’ that can reduce and eventually replace the need for artificial fertilisers, in the light of an efficiency level comparable to that of the latter; welcomes the fact that the production and use of mineral concentrates makes a significant contribution to the circular economy by closing the mineral loop, and asks the Commission to revise the EU fertiliser regulation and remove barriers in the nitrates directive so as to stimulate the development of mineral concentrate from animal manureneed to promote livestock farms with firm links to the land, which are less dependent on external inputs and use their animals' manure as fertilizer;

Amendment 201 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. ~~Is concerned~~Considers that depleted soil quality is compromising future production, necessitating a change in farming methods and systems, given that the phasing out of animal husbandry has contributed to decrease in soil fertility on many farms owing to the inadequate organic content and insufficient use of organic fertilisers; is concerned also that the EU is highly dependent on the import of minerals for the production of artificial fertilisers such as phosphate and that the production of artificial fertilisers has a high ecological footprint; emphasises the possibility of processing animal manure into mineral concentrate that could be used to manufacture ‘green fertiliser’ that can reduce and eventually replace the need for artificial fertilisers, in the light of an efficiency level comparable to that of the latter; welcomes the fact that the production and use of mineral concentrates makes a significant contribution to the circular economy by closing the mineral loop, and asks the Commission to revise the EU fertiliser regulation and remove barriers in the nitrates directive so as to stimulate the development of mineral concentrate from animal manure;

Amendment 202 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Is concerned that the EU is highly dependent on the import of minerals for the production of artificial fertilisers such as phosphate and that the production of artificial fertilisers has a high carbon and ecological footprint; emphasises the possibility of processing animal manure into mineral concentrate that could be used to manufacture ‘green fertiliser’ that can reduce and eventually replace the need for artificial fertilisers, in the light of an efficiency level comparable to that of the latter; welcomes the fact that the production and use of mineral concentrates makes a significant contribution to the circular economy by closing the mineral loop and will considerably reduce farms' fertiliser costs, and asks the Commission to revise the EU fertiliser regulation and remove barriers in the nitrates directive so as to render possible, without legislative obstacles, and stimulate the development of mineral concentrate from animal manure;

Amendment 203 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Is concerned that the EU is highly dependent on the import of minerals for the production of ~~artifici~~mineral fertilisers such as phosphate and that the production of ~~artifici~~mineral fertilisers has a high ecological footprint; emphasises the possibility of processing animal manure into mineral concentrate that could be used to manufacture ‘green fertiliser’ that can reduce and eventually replace the need for ~~artifici~~mineral fertilisers, in the light of an efficiency level comparable to that of the latter; welcomes the fact that the production and use of mineral concentrates makes a significant contribution to the circular economy by closing the mineral loop, and asks the Commission to revise the EU fertiliser regulation and remove barriers in the nitrates directive so as to stimulate the development of mineral concentrate from animal manure;

Amendment 204 #

Philippe LOISEAU, Laurenţiu REBEGA, Edouard FERRAND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Advocates the use of biostimulation, an innovative technique using complex natural extract micro-dose mixtures to improve physiological cultivation methods and ensure optimum development; notes that it improves plant quality and nutrient assimilation, reduces chemical fertilizer input and water consumption and enhances abiotic stress tolerance, helping to cut both operating costs and pollution levels;

Amendment 205 #

Michel DANTIN, Angélique DELAHAYE, Marc TARABELLA, José BOVÉ, Eric ANDRIEU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a.. Is also concerned at the EU's continued dependence on imported protein feed such as soya and calls for an ambitious protein crop development policy in the European Union;

Amendment 206 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Is concerned at the EU trade deficit in vegetable protein for livestock and calls for substantial funding to be earmarked for measures to reduce the deficit as rapidly as possible; notes that pilot projects for crops such as alfalfa are showing promising results in terms of farmers' incomes and also the environment; considers that is appropriate to continue along these lines by increasing available funding and developing research into a larger number of plant varieties;

Amendment 207 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Recommends the ~~use of individual farm-specif~~establishment of public mlan~~agement systems that measure and~~d analysis laboratories to evaluate the balance of nutrients and microorganisms at farm level linked to the different chains in the production cycle helping to measure the environmental impact of individual farms and calculate farm-specific nutrient balances; notes that ~~an efficient use of minerals~~good soil management leads to higher crop yields and less need for fertiliser, and contributes to efficient feeding practices, allowing farmers to improve their operations while reducing costs and moving away from generic measures; recommends establishing, maintaining and restoring public advisory services for farmers and calls on the Commission to present a study on the matter;

Amendment 208 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Recommends the use of ~~individual farm-specific management syste~~management systems specific to individual farms that measure and evaluate the balance of nutrients at farm level linked to the different chains in the production cycle helping to measure the environmental impact of individual farms and calculate farm-specific nutrient balances; notes that an efficient use of minerals leads to higher crop yields and less need for fertiliser, and contributes to efficient feeding practices, allowing farmers to improve their operations while reducing costs and moving away from generic measures; calls on the Commission to present a study on the matter;

Amendment 209 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

~~14.~~ Recommends the use of individual farm- specific management systems that measure and evaluate the balance of nutrients at farm level linked to the different chains in the production cycle helping to measure the environmental impact of individual farms and calculate farm-specific nutrient balances; notes that an efficient use of minerals leads to higher crop yields and less need for fertiliser, and contributes to efficient feeding practices, allowing farmers to improve their operations while reducing costs and moving away from generic measures; calls on the Commission to support, by means of cofinancing from various European funds, including Horizon 2020 and EFSI, the pilot projects in this field which are already planned, and to present a study on the matter;

Amendment 21 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas according to the UN, if the sustainable development goals (SDGs) are to be achieved agricultural productivity will have to double by 2030, while simultaneously the agri-food sector will have to adapt to climate change and changing weather conditions ~~and~~, improve ecosystem and soil quality and minimise biodiversity loss; whereas four out of the eight UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are connected to agriculture;

Amendment 210 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Encourages the implementation of high-precision low-emission techniques for storage, transportation and land spreading of manure which would lead to a significant improvement of the plant uptake of nutrients from the manure thus reducing the need for mineral fertilizers and reducing the risk of contamination of Waters;

Amendment 211 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14 a. Calls on the Commission to promote loans for land development by drawing up criteria for state subsidies based on forward-looking, objective indicators to serve as a reliable guide for Member State governments;

Amendment 212 #

Bronis ROPĖ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Urges the Commission and Council to bring proper attention to bear with a view to fully exploiting the existing potential for extensive farming, including measures whereby currently unused areas of abandoned farmland in Member States can be brought back into the agricultural production cycle;

Amendment 213 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)

14b. Points out, that better land application techniques are one of the key factors to reduce the total ammonia emission and, consequently, each country should ensure, that low-emission slurry application techniques are used with band spreading (using trailing shoes or trailing hose), injection or acidification;

Amendment 214 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Points out that climate-smart farming practices could have a triple-win effect by increasing sustainable production, ensuring climate-resilient farming that is better able to cope with changing and adverse weather patterns, and reducing emissions from the agricultural sector by encouraging productive, resource-efficient and circular systems; stresses that ~~the~~ agricultur~~al sector has the unique opportunity~~e and forestry can help combat global warming through the capacity of soil to actively capture CO2 by means of forestation, use of cover crops and leguminous crops, limiting tillage and absorbing greenhouse gases in the soil (carbon sinking); notes that, as shown by the COP 21 '4 per thousand' programme, an annual 4/1000 increase in the organic content of soil would be enough to offset all greenhouse gas emissions and achieve large-scale regeneration of depleted soils worldwide;

Amendment 215 #

Daniel BUDA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Points out that climate-smart farming practices could have a triple-win effect by increasing sustainable production, ensuring climate-resilient farming that is better able to cope with changing and adverse weather patterns, and reducing emissions from the agricultural sector by encouraging productive, resource-efficient and circular systems; stresses 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); stresses the multiple role of forest shelterbelts, which help not only to protect crops but also to retain much- needed water in the soil.

Amendment 216 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Points out that climate-smart farming practices could have a triple-win effect by increasing sustainable production, ensuring climate-resilient farming that is better able to cope with changing and adverse weather patterns, and reducing emissions from the agricultural sector by encouraging productive, resource-efficient and circular systems; stresses 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); cautions that although "Climate Smart Agriculture" covers a wide variety of mostly positive practices, a small minority of them are agri-business as usual masquerading as sustainability, or can lock farmers into increased input dependency;

Amendment 217 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Points out that ~~climate-smart farming~~agroecological practices ~~could~~ have a ~~triple-win effect by increasing sustainable production, ensuring climate-resilient farming that is better able to cope with changing and adverse~~much 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; stresses~~and 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 218 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Points out that climate-smart farming practices could have a triple-win effect by increasing sustainable production, ensuring climate-resilient farming that is better able to cope with changing and adverse weather patterns, and reducing emissions from the agricultural sector by encouraging productive, resource-efficient and circular systems; stresses 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), this highlights the need to broaden the definition of "productive agriculture" and to fully support and respect those farming lands which provide public goods in climate mitigation and carbon sequestration;

Amendment 219 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Points out that climate-smart farming practices could have a triple-win effect by increasing sustainable production, ensuring climate-resilient farming that is better able to cope with changing and adverse weather patterns, and reducing emissions from the agricultural sector by encouraging productive, resource-efficient and circular systems; stresses 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); highlights that financial incentives for farmers are crucial to implement the climate-smart farming practices;

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas achieving the objectives of the common agricultural policy, in particular increasing sustainable productivity and ensuring farmers' standard of living, and promoting research and development and innovation, will in the future require adequate EU funding, at least matching the current level, to ensure the success of this policy;

Amendment 220 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Stresses that traditional and knowledge-based agroecological practices such as agroforestry can equally well help improving sustainability, resource efficiency and climate impacts of EU agriculture while at the same time increasing farmland productivity and farmers' incomes and reducing their reliance on external inputs;

Amendment 221 #

Viorica DĂNCILĂ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Recommends that strategies be devised for preventing and mitigating adverse effects on agriculture in the European Union through: – an action plan for the most affected areas: using certain plant varieties resistant to the new climatic conditions, adjusting the farming calendar to suit the new conditions, forestation, building greenhouses, managing water resources for agriculture and ‘greening’ polluted land; – the other measure should be a plan for the future aimed at eliminating the causes of climate change by promoting a global economy based on reduced CO2 emissions, combined with the promotion of energy security;

Amendment 222 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Calls for agro-forestry to be promoted so as to increase the amount of trees in agricultural systems, notably for defence against flooding downstream and against soil erosion and generally to promote soil health; calls for innovative tree-based approaches integrated with agricultural activity so as to optimise catchment-level planning and river basin management; Notes that trees make systems more, not less, productive and should be recognised as such; calls upon the Commission and MS to exercise common sense in achieving the policy aims of increasing climate resilience and maintaining biodiversity when balancing these with eligibility rules ; Regrets that existing active farmers in upland or marginal areas, despite grazing livestock in tough conditions and providing public goods by protecting the landscape and maintaining biodiversity in high nature value areas, are discriminated against by receiving less direct payments per hectare and even have areas of traditionally grazed woodland, rough pasture, or other silvo- pastoral systems deemed ineligible for payments; Recognises that traditional silvo-pastoral systems such as dehesa and montado are multifunctional sustainable land uses to be protected and rewarded, while newer methods of incorporating trees in the lowland farming systems such as alley cropping should also be considered; Cautions however against the planting of trees on species-rich permanent grassland, as changes in the grazing regime can cause biodiversity to plummet;

Amendment 223 #

Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI, Beata GOSIEWSKA, Zbigniew KUŹMIUK, Stanisław OŻÓG, Jadwiga WIŚNIEWSKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)

15b. Calls on the Commission and Member States to remove all administrative and other barriers preventing or discouraging farmers from planting trees on their holdings and integrating farmland with woodland, in particular through agroforestry; underlines significant benefits associated with wider use of trees especially for increased sustainability and productivity of farming as well as for flood protection, biodiversity preservation and local and regional economic development;

Amendment 224 #

Motion for a resolution
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, as well as rational water management, 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 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 225 #

Motion for a resolution
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, higher occurrence of flooding 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 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 226 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Considers soil quality to be of a major and vital 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; ~~call~~Urges 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 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 227 #

Motion for a resolution
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 orand fertilising with green legumes and nitrogen-binding bacteria to avoid further soil degradation; points out that, in order to combat desertification and eutrophication, farmers must be encouraged to develop irrigation systems, including improving water efficiency and the application of economical irrigation techniques; believes that the interplay between the mobilisation of organic matter and production needs to be better understood; welcomes research into innovative practices such as the use of microbial interventions ~~and plant-soil interactions~~(bacterial fertilizers) and studies of plant-soil interactions with mycorrhiza, PGPR and PGR bacteria 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 228 #

Motion for a resolution
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 and plant-soil interactions which could lower the environmental impact and reduce the use of chemical fertilisers and of pesticides that damage human and animal health and the environment; recognises the importance of a sustainable soil use that takes account of site-specific needs;

Amendment 229 #

Motion for a resolution
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, permanent soil cover, limited tillage 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 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 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas population growth, higher average incomes and changing consumer behaviour will lead to revised dietary preferences, in particular resulting in higher demand for processed foods and animal proteins such as meat and dairy;deleted

Amendment 230 #

Momchil NEKOV, Ricardo SERRÃO SANTOS

Motion for a resolution
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 231 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Recognises that farm systems are not productive if they are either flooded or desiccated for most of the year; Calls upon the Commission and MS to promote innovation for water management and conservation, integrated with farm advice services and extension services, using innovative techniques and technology to e.g. reduce wasteful irrigation practices, or to mitigate flooding; calls for integration with existing and new landscape features such as ponds, and with schemes aimed at increasing water retention in the soil and in habitats associated with agriculture such as wet meadows, protecting groundwater infiltration zones, increasing capacities of infiltration of water into the soil and water retention; welcomes landscape- level synergies with river basin management planning ; calls for encouraging uptake of "regeneration agriculture" techniques to e.g. increase the depth of the topsoil layer, encourage humus creation, inoculate dying or unhealthy soils with compost to bring them back to optimal functionality.

Amendment 232 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Underlines the role, which deep sea organogenic mineral sediments (DSOMS), such as sapropel and other sediments from sea or ocean's bottom, have in the production of compost and soil improvers and calls on the Commission to encourage the development and use of these innovations;

Amendment 233 #

Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI, Beata GOSIEWSKA, Zbigniew KUŹMIUK, Stanisław OŻÓG, Jadwiga WIŚNIEWSKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Calls for more efforts to be made to develop and fully implement an integrated pest management system by supporting research into non- chemical alternatives and low-risk measures and pesticides which are more environment-friendly; calls on the Commission to come forward with an action plan and to set up an expert group in order to work towards a more sustainable pest management system; highlights the potential of a pest management that improves the interaction between plant breeding efforts, natural combat systems and pesticide use; notes that biological control mechanisms relating to pests and diseases could reduce the use of pesticides and may contribute to better plant resilience; suggests that the CAP Farm Advisory System is more widely used in order to inform the farmers about integrated pest management and non- chemical alternatives to plant protection products;

Amendment 234 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Calls for more ~~efforts~~action to be ~~made~~taken to develop ansystems of integrated p~~est~~lant protection management ~~system~~ by supporting ~~research in~~scientific research that gives particular preference to non- chemical ~~alternatives and low-risk measures and pesticides which are more environment-friendly~~methods that limit the risk associated with the use of plant protection products; calls on the Commission to come forward with an action plan and to ~~set up~~appoint an expert group in order to work towards a ~~more~~ sustainable ~~pest~~and integrated plant protection management system; highlights the ~~potential of a pest management~~importance of research into all available plant protection methods that aimproves the interaction between plant breeding efforts, natural combat systems and pesticide use; notes that biological control mechanisms relating to pests and diseases could reduce the use of pesticides and may contribute to better plant resilience to discourage the development of the populations of harmful organisms and keep the use of plant protection products and other forms of intervention to levels that are economically and ecologically justified; notes that the use of all available plant protection methods can discourage the development of populations of harmful organisms, reduce the use of chemical plant protection products and minimise the dangers to human health and the environment arising from the use of pesticides;

Amendment 235 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Calls for more efforts to be made to develop an integrated pest management system by supporting research into non- chemical alternatives and low-risk measures and pesticides which are more environment-friendly; calls on the Commission to come forward with an action plan and to set up an expert group in order to work towards a more sustainable pest management system; highlights the potential of a pest management that improves the interaction between plant breeding efforts, natural combat systems, and pesticide use, which should be gradually reduced; notes that biological control mechanisms relating to pests and diseases could reduce the use of pesticides and may contribute to better plant resilience;

Amendment 236 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Calls for more efforts to be made to develop an integrated pest management system by supporting research into non- chemical alternatives and low-risk measures and pesticides which are more environment-friendly~~; calls on the~~ , especially for product use on minor and speciality crops; stresses that the approvals process and criteria for defining active substances is becoming increasingly challenging for EU agriculture and calls on the Commission to come forward with an action plan and to set up an expert group in order to work towards a more sustainable pest management system; stresses the need to maintain a diverse range of plant protection products which include both chemical and biological products; highlights the potential of a pest management that improves the interaction between plant breeding efforts, natural combat systems and pesticide use; notes that biological control mechanisms relating to pests and diseases could reduce the use of pesticides and may contribute to better plant resilience;

Amendment 237 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Calls for more efforts to be made to develop an biological and integrated pest management system by supporting research into non- chemical alternatives and low-risk measures and pesticides which are more environment-friendly; calls on the Commission to come forward with an action plan and to set up an expert group in order to work towards a more sustainable pest management system; urges the Commission also to consider ways of encouraging biostimulation and biocontrol at European level; highlights the potential of a pest management that improves the interaction between plant breeding efforts, natural combat systems and pesticide use; notes that biological control mechanisms relating to pests and diseases could reduce the use of pesticides and may contribute to better plant resilience;

Amendment 238 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Calls for more efforts to be made to develop an integrated pest management system by supporting research into non- chemical alternatives and low-risk measures and pesticides which are more environment-friendly; calls on the Commission to come forward with an action plan and to set up an expert group in order to work towards a more sustainable pest management system; stresses that integrated pest management is designed to make smarter use of the interplay between chemical and biological measures; highlights the potential of a pest management that improves the interaction between plant breeding efforts, natural combat systems and pesticide use; notes that biological control mechanisms relating to pests and diseases could reduce the use of pesticides and may contribute to better plant resilience;

Amendment 239 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Calls for more efforts to be made to develop an integrated pest management system by supporting research into non- chemical alternatives and low-risk measures and pesticides which are more environment-friendly; calls on the Commission to come forward with a~~n action plan~~ road map and to set up an expert group with the necessary funding in order to work towards a more sustainable pest management system; highlights the potential of a pest management that improves the interaction between plant breeding efforts, natural combat systems and pesticide use; notes that biological control mechanisms relating to pests and diseases could reduce the use of pesticides and may contribute to better plant resilience;

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas global population growth, notwithstanding the fact that the EU population will remain relatively stable, higher average incomes and changing consumer behaviour will lead to revised dietary preferences, in particular resulting in higher global demand for processed foods and animal proteins such as meat and dairy; whereas in many food cultures, dairy is a novel food group and replaces other more efficient forms of protein acquisition, and meat was consumed with less frequency;

Amendment 240 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Calls for more efforts to be made to develop an integrated pest management system by supporting research into non- chemical alternatives and low-risk measures and pesticides which are more environment-friendly; calls on the Commission to come forward with an action plan and to set up an expert group in order to work towards a more sustainable pest management system; highlights the potential of a pest management that improves the interaction between ~~plant breeding efforts,~~ natural combat systems and pesticide use; notes that biological control mechanisms relating to pests and diseases could reduce the use of pesticides and may contribute to better plant resilience;

Amendment 241 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Recognises that a pesticide is a substance intended to kill living things, mostly by interfering with respiratory and metabolic pathways common to many species, so that pesticides have been unable to target the pest species, resulting in collateral damage to other life forms in the agro-ecosystem including soil life; also notes that species beneficial to crop plants, defending their roots and providing water and nutrition in the soil and preying on pests above ground, are often also killed upon application of a pesticide, meaning that crops become susceptible to future attacks; further recognises that due to micro- evolution and adaptation, there is a biological inevitability of resistance building up in pest species against frequently used pesticides, limiting effectiveness of this method in the long term; therefore cautions against prophylactic use of pesticides in innovations that can greatly simplify ecosystems and so advocates a cascade approach whereby pesticides are a last resort after both innovative and long-standing non- chemical and physical interventions, which break the life cycle of the pest and encourage regulation of pest species by their natural predators via predator-prey interactions ensured by high species diversity;

Amendment 242 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Reminds that a pesticide is a substance intended to kill living things, mostly by interfering with respiratory and metabolic pathways common to many species, so that all problems with pesticides has always been an inability to target the pest species, resulting in collateral damage to other life forms in the agro-ecosystem including soil life; Notes that species beneficial to crop plants, defending their roots and providing water and nutrition in the soil and preying on pests above ground, are also killed, meaning that crops become susceptible to future attacks;

Amendment 243 #

Motion for a resolution
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 new 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;deleted

Amendment 244 #

Motion for a resolution
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 new 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, in accordance with European Parliament Resolution No 2015/2981 (RSP) on patents and plant breeders' rights, 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;

Amendment 245 #

Motion for a resolution
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 new 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, such as the difficulty in having legislation based on techniques instead of the result of the technique, which leads to outdated legislation and major obstacles for the plant breeding sector; 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;

Amendment 246 #

Motion for a resolution
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 new varieties, contributing to the development of plants with higher yields, greater nutritional value and better resistance to pests, diseases and adverse weather conditions without, however, using GMO technologies; 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;

Amendment 247 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Calls for a continuous development of innovative new breeding techniques for plants facilitating greater biodiversity and the adaptation of reproductive material to the needs of organic farming and the prospect of global warming, as this is of vital importance for the efficient development of new 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;

Amendment 248 #

Daniel BUDA

Motion for a resolution
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 new varieties, contributing to the development of plants with higher yields, greater nutritional value and better resistance to pests, diseases and adverse weather conditions, with a view to diversifying varieties and satisfying food requirements that take demographic change into account; 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;

Amendment 249 #

Motion for a resolution
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 new 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~~benefit health and the environment, for example meeting the increasing demand for fish oils by engineering the metabolic processes in camelina plants to provide a terrestrial, sustainable source of omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids; 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;

Amendment 25 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas population growth, higher average incomes – in spite of growing inequalities – and changing consumer behaviour will lead to revised dietary preferences, in particular resulting in higher demand for processed foods and animal proteins such as meat and dairy;

Amendment 250 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Calls for a continuous development of truly sustainable innovative new breeding techniques for plants, as this is of vital importance for the efficient development of new varieties, potentially 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 may provide ~~unprecedented~~ opportunities to reduce the environmental impact of conventional agriculture~~; disapproves~~ but cautions against the lock-in of tche 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 respmical dependency in newer varieties and the associated negative impacts on naturally occurring soil bound plant nutrition and defence mechanisms ; realises however that because these techniques are new, they do not yet have a long history of safe use, and that due care should be taken in approval processes for plants obtained by using them; notes furthermore than conventional breeding is just as, if not more, reliable to achieve desired phenotype changes, due to unintended changes in the genotype following introduction of genetic material via new techniques, which can result in instability under high stress conditions, or unwanted side effects on proteins and metabolites ; disapproves of unreasonable administrative and regulatory burdens; urges the Commission to ensure access to biological materials for SMEs in the breeding sector;

Amendment 251 #

Motion for a resolution
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 new~~measures 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 252 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

Amendment 253 #

Motion for a resolution
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 new 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;

Amendment 254 #

Jan HUITEMA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Calls for a continuous development of innovative new breeding techniques for plants and animals, as this is of vital importance for the efficient development of new 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;

Amendment 255 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Is of the opinion that EU seed banks offer a substantial quantity of genetic material that could be used for plant research and to produce new varieties to meet the major challenges of food security, sustainable agriculture, climate change, and new types of demand linked to different and healthier lifestyles:

Amendment 256 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Urges the Commission to promote research initiatives focusing on more modern and sustainable biotechnologies – genome editing and cisgenesis, for example – with a view to increasing the competitiveness, production efficiency, and sustainability of the farming system, thereby encouraging adaptation to climate change, contributing to product quality, and reducing the need to use plant protection products;

Amendment 257 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Recognises that seed breeding has been a farmer-led innovative process since the beginning of agriculture; is concerned that innovation has in many plant sectors been taken out of the hands of farmers; calls for greater uptake and funding for participative breeding, via the EIPs among others, so that farming communities can continue to adapt a high diversity of seeds with a broad genetic variation to increasingly volatile local climatic conditions;

Amendment 258 #

Elisabeth KÖSTINGER, Norbert LINS, Herbert DORFMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Notes with concern the trend towards breeding seed to be dependent upon agro- chemicals, and using a prophylactic approach by coating seeds with pesticides, as this prevents the natural nutrition and defence mechanisms found in living, healthy soils and biologically diverse agro-ecosystems to resist pest attack, preventing integrated approaches such as IPM from working properly, as well as locking farmers in to chemical dependency and increasing susceptibility to future attacks;

Amendment 259 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Points - in connection with innovative, new breeding methods for plant and animal varieties - to the arrangements for the legal protection of biological inventions1a , under which general plant and animal varieties and essentially biological processes for the production of plants and animals may not be patented; urges the Commission to verify the interpretation and scope of that derogation, since, in the interests of food security, free access to breeding material, and the free use thereof, must continue to be guaranteed; ___________ 1a Directive 98/44/EC on the legal protection of biological inventions.

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

C a. whereas the quality of life of agricultural workers and of rural communities must be improved;

Amendment 260 #

Philippe LOISEAU, Laurenţiu REBEGA, Edouard FERRAND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)

18b. Regrets that the approval process for non-chemical alternatives to plant protection products such as biological controls and nature-based solutions is the same as for conventional pesticides and biocides; notes the huge success of biological and nature-based controls especially in the fruit sector; calls therefore for easing of these restrictions, notwithstanding due attention to be given to avoid release of alien species;

Amendment 261 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)

18b. Notes the trend towards breeding seed to be dependent upon agro- chemicals, and using a prophylactic approach by coating seeds with pesticides; notes this can prevent the natural nutrition and defence mechanisms found in living, healthy soils and biologically diverse agro-ecosystems that help plants to resist pest attack, and so can prevent integrated approaches such as IPM from working properly, as well as locking farmers in to chemical dependency and increasing susceptibility to future attacks;

Amendment 262 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)

18c. Regrets that the approval process for non-chemical alternatives to plant protection products such as biological controls and nature-based solutions is the same as for conventional pesticides and biocides; notes the huge success of biological and nature-based controls especially in the fruit sector; calls on the Commission therefore for the proportional easing of these restrictions on non-chemical alternatives, notwithstanding due attention to be given to avoid release of alien species;

Amendment 263 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

Amendment 264 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Highlights the possibility of using financial instruments to help improve stable returns and margins; notes that only five Member States have taken up the extended possibilities under the new Rural Development Programme to make use of market-compatible financial instruments in order to address market gaps; calls on the Commission to facilitate access to capital, since lack of such access is often a barrier to innovation; Regrets that the opportunity for co-funded capital investment in the RDPs is not being used for investment in technologies such as precision farming and calls on the national and regional authorities in their design of the next RDPs to support the development and uptake of these investment opportunities;

Amendment 265 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Highlights the possibility of using financial instruments to help improve ~~stable returns and margins~~farming income in Europe; notes that only five Member States have taken up the extended possibilities under the new Rural Development Programme to make use of market-compatible financial instruments in order to address market gaps; calls on the Commission to facilitate access to c~~apital~~redit, since lack of such access is often a barrier to innovation;

Amendment 266 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Highlights the possibility of using financial instruments to help improve stable returns and margins; notes that only five Member States have taken up the extended possibilities under the new Rural Development Programme to make use of market-compatible financial instruments in order to address market gaps; calls on the Commission to facilitate access to capital, – both loans on the one hand and funds and subsidies on the other – since lack of such access for family farms is often a barrier to their participation and inclusion in the field of necessary agricultural innovation;

Amendment 267 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Highlights the possibility of using financial instruments to help improve stable returns and margins, believes however that this should not be a substitute to ensuring a viable return from the marketplace and urges the commission to address the imbalance in this food chain; notes that only five Member States have taken up the extended possibilities under the new Rural Development Programme to make use of market-compatible financial instruments in order to address market gaps; calls on the Commission to facilitate access to capital, since lack of such access is often a barrier to innovation;

Amendment 268 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Calls on the Commission to assess any negative impacts of VAT fraud and tax evasion on technological innovation;

Amendment 269 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Calls on the Commission to present an information strategy in order to dramatically improve the access enjoyed by family farms to subsidies, funds and other financial instruments in the field of innovation;

Amendment 27 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas because of biologically limited energy transfer efficiencies between trophic levels, it is more resource-efficient for humans to produce and consume much more vegetable protein; indeed as part of leguminous crop rotations as practiced since the middle ages it provides for a more fertile and productive soil due to nitrogen fixation in nodules;

Amendment 270 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Calls on the Commission to work with the EIB in order to create new financing opportunities for Member States that establish forms of financial support such as guarantee funds, revolving funds or investment capital to facilitate access to credit for farmers and groupings of farmers such as cooperatives, helping on-farm investment for modernisation while also offering opportunities to overcome barriers to credit to which women are disproportionally exposed and financing opportunities for young farmers to expand their businesses, as well as to ensure investment in public-sector research combined with public-private partnerships in order to test and launch innovative products;

Amendment 271 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. ~~Calls on the Commission to work with the EIB in order to create~~Welcomes the EC- EIB Memorandum of Understanding which provides new financing opportunities for Member States that establish forms of financial support such as guarantee funds, revolving funds or investment capital to facilitate access to credit for farmers and groupings of farmers such as cooperatives, helping on-farm investment for modernisation while also offering financing opportunities for young farmers to expand their businesses, as well as to ensure investment in public-sector research combined with public-private partnerships in order to test and launch innovative products;

Amendment 272 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Calls on the Commission to work with the EIB in order to create new financing opportunities for Member States that establish forms of financial support such as guarantee funds, revolving funds or investment capital to facilitate access to credit for farmers and groupings of farmers such as cooperatives, producer organisations and groups and their partners, helping on-farm investment for modernisation while also offering financing opportunities for young farmers to expand their businesses, as well as to ensure investment in public-sector research combined with public-private partnerships in order to test and launch innovative products;

Amendment 273 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

Amendment 274 #

Luke Ming FLANAGAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Calls on the Commission to work with the EIB in order to ~~create new financing opportunities for Member States that establish forms of financial support such as guarantee funds, revolving funds or investment capital to~~ facilitate access to credit for farmers and groupings of farmers such as cooperatives, helping on-farm investment for modernisation while also offering financing opportunities for young farmers to expand their businesses, as well as to ensure investment in public-sector research combined with public-private partnerships in order to test and launch innovative products, believes that this should be done in a responsible manner recognizing that lack of profitability in the sector is a greater constraint to innovation and sustained growth, than lack of credit; notes that soft credit in other sectors have had long-lasting adverse effects;

Amendment 275 #

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. CWelcomes the EIB's willingness to support agricultural projects and young farmers; calls on the Commission to work with the EIB in order to create new financing opportunities for Member States that establish forms of financial support such as guarantee funds, revolving funds or investment capital to facilitate access to credit for farmers and groupings of farmers such as cooperatives, helping on-farm investment for modernisation while also offering financing opportunities for young farmers to expand their businesses, as well as to ensure investment in public-sector research combined with public-private partnerships in order to test and launch innovative products; reiterates that the Parliament wishes to see this financial support flowing and to remove any obstacles in accessing this funding;

Amendment 276 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Recognises business clusters to be powerful drivers of innovation; calls on the Member States, therefore, to determine which farms and/or agri-food businesses might be willing to invest capital in innovation, and to involve them in setting up business networks and/or clusters;

Amendment 277 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Calls on the Commission to ascertain in detail which new skills will be required in future European farm management, and to promote their dissemination by every means available;

Amendment 278 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Acknowledges that there is a great potential for better risk management and sees 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~~public European insurance schemes to cope more effectively with risks and the volatility of farm incomes related to natural or man-made disasters so as to cover adverse climatic events, animal or plant diseases, pest infestations or environmental incidents, as mentioned in Article 37 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013;

Amendment 279 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Acknowledges that there is a great potential for better risk management and sees the current risk management and market 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 plant diseases, pest infestations or environmental incidents, as mentioned in Article 37 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013;

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas hypothetical higher consumption of meat and dairy in the longer term is by no means inevitable as trends develop due to health considerations, the impacts of antibiotic resistance on high density factory farming and legislative responses to that, ethics, and limited natural resources and incomes;

Amendment 280 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. ~~Acknowledges that there is a great potential for better risk management and s~~Sees 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 plant~~establish a range of aid decoupled from the obligation to pay crop insurance to offset losses caused by adverse weather conditions or natural diseas~~es, pest infestations or environmental incidents, as mentioned in Article 37 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013~~ters of all kinds; calls, too, for crop insurance be adapted to suit small and medium-sized farms;

Amendment 281 #

Philippe LOISEAU, Laurenţiu REBEGA, Edouard FERRAND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21a. Stresses, in particular, the need to regulate unfavourable developments within the commercial food chain and to ensure a more even distribution of risk within the food supply chain, with a view to further reducing the operating risks faced by European farmers; calls on the Commission to develop an appropriate legislative act to combat unfair commercial practices in the food supply chain;

Amendment 282 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Welcomes the opportunities opened up by the European Innovation Partnership AGRI (EIP-AGRI) for applied research within the agricultural sector, but is worried by the fragmented way the EIP- AGRI is implemented as part of national or regional Pillar II programmes; asks the Commission to look into the possibility of changing the EIP-AGRI cofinancing mechanisms in order to ensure effective research that is better linked to the market and is driven by real entrepreneurial needs, creating cross-border research focus groups and better participation possibilities for businesses, with a more active involvement by the Commission in terms of providing an explicit innovation and research agenda linked to Horizon 2020 programmes;deleted

Amendment 283 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Welcomes the opportunities opened up by the European Innovation Partnership AGRI (EIP-AGRI) for applied research within the agricultural sector, but is worried by the fragmented way the EIP- AGRI is implemented as part of national or regional Pillar II programmes; asks the Commission to look into the possibility of changing the EIP-AGRI cofinancing mechanisms ~~in order to ensure effective research that is better linked to the market and is driven by real entrepreneurial needs~~, creating cross-border research focus groups and better participation possibilities for businesses, with a more active involvement by the Commission in terms of providing an explicit innovation and research agenda linked to Horizon 2020 programmes;

Amendment 284 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Welcomes the opportunities opened up by the European Innovation Partnership AGRI (EIP-AGRI) for applied research within the agricultural sector, but is worried by the fragmented way the EIP- AGRI is implemented as part of national or regional Pillar II programmes; asks the Commission to look into the possibility of changing the EIP-AGRI cofinancing mechanisms in order to ensure effective research that is better linked to the market and is driven by real entrepreneurial needs, creating cross-border research focus groups and better participation possibilities for businesses, in particular for small and medium-sized businesses, which are mostly excluded from innovation circuits, with a more active involvement by the Commission in terms of providing an explicit innovation and research agenda linked to Horizon 2020 programmes;

Amendment 285 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Welcomes the opportunities opened up by the European Innovation Partnership AGRI (EIP-AGRI) for applied research within the agricultural sector, but is worried by the fragmented way the EIP- AGRI is implemented as part of national or regional Pillar II programmes; asks the Commission to look into the possibility of changing the EIP-AGRI cofinancing mechanisms in order to ensure effective research that is better ~~link~~tailored to the ~~market and is driven by real entrepreneurial needs~~specific socioeconomic needs of – and implemented in cooperation with – family farms in the Union, creating cross-border research focus groups and better participation possibilities for ~~businesses~~as many ordinary farms as possible, with a more active involvement by the Commission in terms of providing an explicit innovation and research agenda linked to Horizon 2020 programmes;

Amendment 286 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Welcomes the opportunities opened up by the European Innovation Partnership AGRI (EIP-AGRI) for applied research within the agricultural sector, but is worried by the fragmented way the EIP- AGRI is implemented as part of national or regional Pillar II programmes; asks the Commission to look into the possibility of changing the EIP-AGRI cofinancing mechanisms in order to ensure effective research that is better linked to ~~the market and is driven by real entreprene~~providing staple food for the population and meeting the needs of rurial ~~need~~communities, creating cross-border research focus groups and better participation possibilities for businesses, farmers' and producers' organisations, with a more active involvement by the Commission in terms of providing an explicit innovation and research agenda linked to Horizon 2020 programmes;

Amendment 287 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Considers that economic development and ecological sustainability are complementary provided enough room is left for innovation and entrepreneurship and provided action is 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~~while at the same time ensuring that relevant environmental legislation such as the Birds and Habitats Directives and the implementation thereof a~~nd reporting back to Parliament every two years~~re fully respected;

Amendment 288 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

Amendment 289 #

Maria NOICHL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

Amendment 29 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the global food security issue will only be resolved by tackling the problem of food wastage found in all countries of the world, but especially if each country has the capacity to develop its own agriculture along sustainable development lines; whereas from this point of view international cooperation is extremely important for innovation in production models, technical progress, training, research, extension services and technological developments;

Amendment 290 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Considers that economic development and ecological sustainability are complementary provided enough room is left for innovation and entrepreneurship and provided action is taken to prevent the appearance of differences in national implementation, and to retrospectively eliminate such differences, so as to ensure a genuine level playing field in the Union, 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~~disparate, contradictory and suboptimal implementation thereof in the various Member States of the Union and reporting back to Parliament every two years;

Amendment 291 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Considers that economic development ~~and~~must be linked to ecological sustainability a~~re complementary provided enough room is left for innovation and entrepreneurship and provided action is~~nd 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 292 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

Amendment 293 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Considers that economic development and ecological sustainability are complementary provided enough room is left for innovation and entrepreneurship and provided action is 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~~, believes that in the implementation ~~thereof and reporting back to Parliament every two years~~of these directives innovative techniques can be used to assess and quantify the benefits and outputs that these areas are capable of delivering, in terms of climate mitigation and other public goods that are not currently recognized or paid for by the market place;

Amendment 294 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Considers that economic development and ecological sustainability are complementary provided enough room is left for innovation and entrepreneurship and provided action is 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 and by proposing better animal welfare measures;

Amendment 295 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Stresses that the CAP should be more focused on farmers’ needs ~~while not compromising policy goal~~and the needs of the regions; stresses the need for a more flexible legislative framework that is easier to gear to national and local conditions and 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 an overly market- oriented CAP will ~~enhanc~~undermine the innovative power and competitiveness of the European agricultural sector by reducing government intervention and stimulating entrepreneurship;

Amendment 296 #

Philippe LOISEAU, Laurenţiu REBEGA, Edouard FERRAND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Stresses that the CAP should be more focused on farmers’ needs while not compromising policy goals; stresses the need for a simpler and 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 entrepreneurship;

Amendment 297 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Stresses that the CAP should be more 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 entrepreneurship;

Amendment 298 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Stresses that the CAP should be more 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 entrepreneurship~~;

Amendment 299 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Stresses that the CAP should be more 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 entrepreneurship;

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)

– having regard to the UN's International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development of the FAO, GEF, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, the World Bank and WHO,

Amendment 30 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

C b. whereas efforts must be made to promote the increased use of renewable energy sources such as biomass, solar power, wind and water power and bioethanol;

Amendment 300 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Stresses that the CAP should be more 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 enhanc~~around multi-partner strategies contributing to a better future for all involved, by promoting 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~~competitive and sustainable CAP will enhance the innovative power ~~and competitiveness of the European agricultural sector by reducing government intervention and stimulating entrepreneurship~~of agriculture by encouraging public-private partnerships and shared value chains;

Amendment 301 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Stresses that the CAP should be more 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~~CAP which is based on the social market economy and on family farms, as the essential core values of the genesis of this Union, will enhance the innovative power and competitiveness of the European agricultural sector ~~by reducing government intervention and stimulating entrepreneurship~~and will contribute to the economic development of rural areas in Europe;

Amendment 302 #

Hannu TAKKULA, Petri SARVAMAA, Paavo VÄYRYNEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Stresses that the CAP should be ~~more~~principally 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 303 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Stresses that the CAP should be more focused on farmers’ needs while not compromising policy goals; stresses the need for a more simple and 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 entrepreneurship;

Amendment 304 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Calls on the Commission to report every two years on the impact of Union financing and other Union measures in the field of agricultural innovation on the development of cost prices and selling prices of agricultural products and on the associated financial and economic prospects of family farms in the Union;

Amendment 305 #

Philippe LOISEAU, Laurenţiu REBEGA, Edouard FERRAND

Motion for a resolution
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 2014-2020; 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 practices without an increase in burdensome rules and procedures; believes that a horizontal priority for the European legislative framework should be to ensure sufficient leeway for pilot programmes and testing for innovative techniques, while observing the precautionary principle;

Amendment 306 #

Motion for a resolution
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 2014-2020; 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 practices without an increase in ~~burdensome rules and procedures~~the administrative burden; believes that a horizontal priority for the European legislative framework should be to ensure sufficient leeway for pilot programmes and testing for innovative techniques;

Amendment 307 #

Motion for a resolution
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 2014-2020; 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 practices without an increase in burdensome rules and procedures;~~ believes that a horizontal priority for the European legislative framework should be to ensure sufficient leeway for pilot programmes ~~and testing for innovative techniques~~;

Amendment 308 #

Motion for a resolution
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 2014-2020~~a 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 prac~~for the provision of infrastructure for the local community, such as abattoirs and industrial facilitices ~~without an increase in burdensome rules and procedure~~for 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;

Amendment 309 #

Motion for a resolution
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 2014-2020; 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 practices~~ without an increase in burdensome rules and procedures; believes that a horizontal priority for the European legislative framework should be to ensure sufficient leeway for pilot programmes and testing for innovative techniques;

Amendment 31 #

Herbert DORFMANN, Elisabeth KÖSTINGER

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

Cb. whereas cows and other ruminants have evolved to eat grass, or rather digest the bacteria that break down the grass, to obtain the protein they need; whereas as dairy farmers globally suffer due to overproduction of European milk, agronomists are increasingly questioning a soya dependency that means cows are fed like Olympic athletes in order to produce the most milk they can simply to oversupply an already-saturated market;

Amendment 310 #

25a. Regards it as essential to preserve farmland in problem areas such as mountainous and peripheral areas in the Union, too, and therefore backs all action to ensure that the mainly small-scale holdings there also have access to high tech tailored to their needs;

Amendment 311 #

Philippe LOISEAU, Laurenţiu REBEGA, Edouard FERRAND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)

25a. Is concerned about the proliferation of free trade agreements between the EU and third countries that are encouraging social and environmental dumping; is particularly concerned about the transatlantic free trade agreement (TAFTA) negotiations, given that they are threatening to compromise European agricultural production and food processing standards, including those relating to animal welfare, the environment, food safety, labelling and traceability; calls on the Commission therefore to seek the exclusion of agricultural matters from the transatlantic free trade agreement negotiations;

Amendment 312 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)

25a. Calls on the Commission in other fields of regulations aimed at creating a better functioning and integrated internal market to also make sure that regulations and policies are striving to increase better competition;

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

Cb. whereas because of biologically limited energy transfer efficiencies between trophic levels, it is more resource-efficient for humans to produce and consume much more vegetable protein; indeed as part of leguminous crop rotations as practiced since the middle ages, it also provides for a more fertile and productive soil due to nitrogen fixation in root nodules;

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)

Cc. whereas cows and other ruminants have evolved to eat grass, or rather digest the bacteria that break down the grass, to obtain the protein they need; whereas as dairy farmers globally suffer due to overproduction of European milk, agronomists are increasingly questioning a soya dependency that fuels land grabs and deforestation in the tropics and means cows are fed on costly feed they are not adapted to, in order to produce the most milk that can be obtained, simply to oversupply an already-saturated market, with milk prices not even able to cover costs of production;

Amendment 34 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas despite the numerous challenges and the growing number of standards farmers have to deal with, EU consumers have never spent a smaller percentage of their income on food, while the current economic downturn has resulted in increased levels of poverty which often forces EU consumers to seek assistance of food banks;

Amendment 35 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas despite the numerous challenges and the growing number of standards farmers have to deal with, and whereas reserves of agricultural technology resources have fallen and the rate of growth of irrigated land areas has slowed markedly; EU consumers have never spent a smaller percentage of their income on food;

Amendment 36 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas despite the numerous challenges and the growing number of standards farmers have to deal with, EU consumers have never spent a smaller percentage of their income on food; whereas prices of goods from other sectors of the economy have increased over the decades, food prices have intentionally been kept low in the USA and the EU and this has had the effect of squeezing farmers as costs of production have increased faster than farm gate prices;

Amendment 37 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas despite the numerous challenges and the growing number of standards farmers have to deal with, EU consumers have never spent a smaller percentage of their income on food; whereas prices of goods from other sectors of the economy have increased over the decades, food prices have intentionally been kept low in the USA and the EU and this has had the effect of squeezing farmers as costs of production have increased faster than farm gate prices;

Amendment 38 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas excessive taxation practices on food articles leading to extreme differences among Member States have a negative effect on producers, consumers and technological innovation and give ground to VAT fraud on the EU single market;

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas the FAO notes in its main publication ‘The State of Food and Agriculture’ that women make significant contributions to the rural economy in all regions and their roles vary from one region to another, even though they always have less access than men to the resources and opportunities they need to be more productive;

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 8 March 2011 on the EU protein deficit: what solution for a long-standing problem?

Amendment 40 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)

Db. whereas increased access for young people and women to land, livestock farming, education, financial services, technology and rural jobs would improve generational renewal in farming, foster economic growth and social well-being and curb rural exodus;

Amendment 41 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas consumers are demanding food production with higher environmental standards and nutritional value, (sustainable food consumption), and while the agricultural sector needs to diversify and innovate to provide good and affordable food for all;

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas consumers are demanding food production with higher environmental standards and ~~nutritional value~~quality food, while the agricultural sector needs to diversify and innovate to provide good and affordable food for all;

Amendment 43 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas consumers are demanding food production with higher environmental standards and nutritional value, while the agricultural sector needs to diversify and innovate to provide good quality and affordable food for all;

Amendment 44 #

Maria NOICHL

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas consumers are demanding food production with higher environmental standards and ~~nutritional value~~fewer contaminants, while the agricultural sector needs to diversify, become more sustainable and innovate to provide good and affordable food for all;

Amendment 45 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas ~~consumers~~not only consumers, but also degradation of the natural resources upon which agriculture itself depends, are demanding food production with higher environmental standards and nutritional value, while the agricultural sector needs to diversify and innovate to provide good quality and affordable food for all;

Amendment 46 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

Amendment 47 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas consumers are demanding food production with higher environmental standards ~~and nutritional value, while the agricultural sector needs to diversify and innovate to provide good~~, which provides greater nutritional value and generates healthy, quality and affordable ~~food for all~~products;

Amendment 48 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas consumers are demanding food production in sufficient quantity and with higher environmental and health standards and greater nutritional and health value, while the agricultural sector needs to diversify and innovate to provide good and affordable food for all;

Amendment 49 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)

- having regard to the Council conclusions of 18 June 2012 on the European Innovation Partnership ‘Agricultural productivity and sustainability’ (2012/C193/01),

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas consumers are demanding food production ~~with higher environmental standards and~~that takes greater account of the environment and offers higher nutritional value, while the agricultural sector needs to diversify and innovate to provide good and affordable food for all;

Amendment 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

E a. whereas almost 1.3 billion tonnes – or one third of the food produced worldwide – is wasted or thrown away, of which more than 100 million tonnes of food produced in Europe is thrown away each year; whereas this is unacceptable from a moral and ethical standpoint and depletes the environment and finite natural resources;

Amendment 52 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas owing to ~~pressur~~the constant decrease oin 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 less, meaning a smaller ecological footprint per kg of product produced;

Amendment 53 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

Amendment 54 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

Amendment 55 #

Motion for a resolution
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 less, meaning a smaller ecological footprint per kg of product produced; whereas this can be achieved only by using sustainable agricultural practices, such as crop diversification and the conservation of natural habitats, ecosystems and local varieties and species;

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
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 less and that local consumption of agricultural and agri-food products is also promoted, meaning a smaller ecological footprint per kg of product produced;

Amendment 57 #

Jean-Paul DENANOT

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas owing to pressure on natural resources, climate change, the scarcity of land, biodiversity loss, the vulnerability of the environment, the growth of the world population and changing consumer behaviour, it is essential that farmers produce more with less, ~~meaning~~drawing inspiration for this from the concept of agro-ecology, which allows the development of ecologically, economically and socially innovative and efficient forms of agriculture and which has a smaller ecological footprint per kg of product produced;

Amendment 58 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

Amendment 59 #

Bronis ROPĖ

Motion for a resolution
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 les~~products with lower environmental costs, meaning a smaller ecological footprint per kg of product produced;

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)

– having regard to its Motion for a Resolution of 14 December 2015 on patents and plant breeders' rights (2015/2981 (RSP)),

Amendment 60 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

Fa. whereas in the EU’s rural areas family farming businesses, which represent the bulk of the EU's agricultural production, account for most employment and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises;

Amendment 61 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)

Fb. whereas the average incomes of members of family farming businesses are higher than those of agricultural labourers; whereas moving towards a smaller number of family farms and a larger number of agricultural labourers would further undermine the economic strength of rural areas;

Amendment 62 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)

Fc. whereas family farming businesses are the nucleus of life in the EU’s rural areas; whereas they help to preserve Europe’s traditional, cultural and natural heritage;

Amendment 63 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas, a more productive, an equitable income 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 64 #

Motion for a resolution
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 and the environment;

Amendment 65 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas, a more productive and resource-efficient agriculture is key to addressing the challenges of environmental, social and economic sustainability for all farms of whatever size and to making them better equipped to preserve natural resources;

Amendment 66 #

Motion for a resolution
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 67 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas, a more productive and resource-efficient agriculture that is better at optimising its products 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 68 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas agriculture that is widespread across the land helps to strengthen the social fabric and contributes to environmental sustainability and job creation in rural areas; whereas this role can be further strengthened through innovation;

Amendment 69 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas the development of more sustainable models of agriculture intended not only to provide food for people but also to produce non-food goods and services represents significant potential for creating new jobs in each region, not only related to food production (human and animal), but also to the bioeconomy, green chemistry, renewable energies and tourism, inter alia; whereas these are also very often jobs that cannot be relocated;

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A (new)

-A. whereas our societies are facing multiple challenges in which agriculture is involved and must play its part. These challenges are: the food challenge: worldwide food security must be ensured in terms of both quantity and quality (health and nutritional quality increasingly linked with health in order to deal with malnutrition, obesity, cardio-vascular disease, etc.); the environmental challenge: we need to respond to the depletion and degradation of natural resources (land, water, air, biodiversity, natural mines, etc.) and to manage them better; the climate challenge: global warming is generating extreme weather events that result in droughts or floods causing substantial damage to the population groups affected and posing severe risks for their food security; the energy challenge: as fossil fuels run out we must give serious thought now to meeting our future energy needs by means of renewable energy sources and to improving our energy efficiency;

Amendment 70 #

Philippe LOISEAU, Laurenţiu REBEGA, Edouard FERRAND

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

Amendment 71 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas the EU is the biggest exporter of agricultural products worldwide, making the agri-food sector a key economic pillar of the Union employing 47 million people in 15 million downstream enterprises in fields such as food processing, retail and services, and contributing to a positive trade balance of EUR 17 802 euro that represents 7.2 % of total value of EU exports; whereas the EU is, equally, the biggest importer of agricultural products worldwide and whereas certain imbalances, in particular that of vegetable proteins for animal feed (soya meal), need to be offset more effectively by means of ambitious programmes;

Amendment 72 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

Amendment 73 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas the competitiveness and sustainability of the common agricultural policy (CAP) isare mentioned as ~~one~~two of the key goals in Article 4(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, and increasing productivity and ensuring reasonable prices as mentioned in Article 39 TFEU can be best achieved through innovation;

Amendment 74 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas the competitiveness of the common agricultural policy (CAP) is mentioned as one of the key goals in Article 4(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, and increasing productivity and ensuring reasonable prices as mentioned in Article 39 TFEU can be best achieved through innovation; whereas future competitiveness depends on the intrinsic productivity and fertility of agricultural systems in the medium and long term, and maintaining and regenerating the natural resources upon which agriculture depends, in particular living, healthy soils and resilient biodiverse agro-ecosystems;

Amendment 75 #

Philippe LOISEAU, Laurenţiu REBEGA, Edouard FERRAND

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas the competitiveness of the common agricultural policy (CAP) is mentioned as one of the key goals in Article 4(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, and increasing productivity and ensuring reasonable ~~prices~~and fair prices for farmers and consumers, as mentioned in Article 39 TFEU can be best achieved through innovation;

Amendment 76 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas the competitiveness of the common agricultural policy (CAP) is mentioned as one of the key goals in Article 4(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, and increasing productivity and ensuring reasonable prices as mentioned in Article 39 TFEU can be best achieved through innovation; whereas since this increased competitiveness cannot be achieved through lowering social standards, our measures for dealing with social dumping, whether by Member States or third countries, must be improved;

Amendment 77 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas the competitiveness of the common agricultural policy (CAP) is mentioned as one of the key goals in Article 4(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, and increasing sustainable productivity and ensuring ~~reasonable prices~~acceptable selling prices for Europe's family farmers, as mentioned in Article 39 TFEU, can be ~~best~~ achieved, inter alia, through innovation;

Amendment 78 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas the competitiveness and sustainability of the common agricultural policy (CAP) isare mentioned as ~~one of the~~ key goals in ~~Article 4(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, and increasing~~the various regulations reforming the CAP in 2013, and whereas ensuring secure food supplies, increasing agricultural productivity ~~and~~, ensuring reasonable ~~prices~~consumer prices and ensuring a fair standard of living for the agricultural community, as mentioned in Article 39 TFEU, can be best achieved through innovation; whereas innovation also allows agriculture to fulfil other, horizontal-policy Treaty goals related to the environment, health and other areas;

Amendment 79 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. whereas an increase in unfavourable developments in agriculture – such as the growing phenomenon of 'land grabbing', unfair commercial practices within the food supply chain, the falling number of farmers, ageing among agricultural producers and the exodus of young people from villages – has been observed recently;

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

Amendment 80 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

J. whereas the memorandum of understanding between the Commission and the EIB signed on 14 July 2014 explicitly encourages further investments in innovative agriculture, providing tools to foster the uptake of investments in agriculture and including a proposal from the Commission aimed at supporting and expanding financial tools in the farming sector in order to combat price fluctuations; whereas, however, these tools are far from sufficient for effectively combating price volatility;

Amendment 81 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

Amendment 82 #

Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI, Beata GOSIEWSKA, Zbigniew KUŹMIUK, Stanisław OŻÓG, Jadwiga WIŚNIEWSKA

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

K. whereas the agricultural sector has been subject to frequent cycles of change ~~aimed at~~with a view to 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;

Amendment 83 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

Amendment 84 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

Amendment 85 #

Momchil NEKOV, Ricardo SERRÃO SANTOS

Motion for a resolution
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; whereas marine and oceanic natural resources have potential to innovate traditional agricultural production;

Amendment 86 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

K. whereas the agricultural sector has been subject to frequent cycles of change aimed at enhancing agricultural productivity, which, together with the permanent premise that family farms must be preserved in the Union, have contributed significantly to the socioeconomic development of agriculture in the Union to its current level; whereas the incorporation of the latest technologies into farming practices will bring significant benefits for all family farm sizes;

Amendment 87 #

Motion for a resolution
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 88 #

Philippe LOISEAU, Laurenţiu REBEGA, Edouard FERRAND

Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)

Ka. whereas a living, healthy soil will guarantee optimal defence and nutrition from beneficial organisms like mycorrhizae or free living nitrogen-fixing bacteria ; whereas these and other beneficial soil organisms are killed off by both synthetic fertiliser and pesticide use, stopping free delivery of the full range of macro- and micro-nutrients and minerals to the plant, rather than only nitrogen and phosphorous in fertilisers which are mostly lost as pollutants in water ; whereas such complete nutrition from a living soil ensures plants grow robustly and resist pest attack better, and that plants are more nutritious and the animals eating them are also healthier ; whereas mycorrhizae act not only as a barrier against pathogenic organisms, but also symbiotically provide crops water and nutrients in exchange for sugars exuded by plant roots;

Amendment 89 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)

Ka. whereas given that the unprecedented crisis affecting European agriculture, and particularly the livestock sector, is a threat to the survival of all sectors, it makes no sense to seek to encourage investment, research and development without first stabilising producers' incomes and helping them to overcome the financial losses they have suffered;

Amendment 9 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that the expected rise in the world’s population to 9.1 billion by 2050 will require a 60 % increase in food production and a 24 % increase in crop yields in the developed countries by that date; whereas the FAO also estimates that there will be only a 4.3 % increase in arable land by 2050; whereas one of the main challenges in the near future will be to ensure an adequate supply of food not only in terms of quantity but also of quality and safety, whilst at the same time preserving the environment, and in particular the air, water and soil, and all the resources that are valuable for future generations;

Amendment 90 #

Bronis ROPĖ

Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)

Ka. whereas in some Member States, for various structural reasons, large areas of abandoned agricultural land are continuing to lie unused;

Amendment 91 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)

Ka. whereas the agro-ecological approach includes innovative techniques as well as longstanding tried and trusted ones, that enable farmers to optimise long-term productivity and fertility of their production systems, based on high species and genetic diversity;

Amendment 92 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K b (new)

Kb. whereas a living, healthy soil will guarantee optimal defence and nutrition from beneficial organisms like mycorrhizae or free living nitrogen-fixing bacteria ; whereas these and other beneficial soil organisms are killed off by both synthetic fertiliser and pesticide use, stopping free delivery of the full range of macro- and micro-nutrients and minerals to the plant, rather than only nitrogen and phosphorous in fertilisers which are mostly lost as pollutants in water ; whereas such complete nutrition from a living soil ensures plants grow robustly and resist pest attack better, and that plants are more nutritious and the animals eating them are also healthier ; whereas mycorrhizae act not only as a barrier against pathogenic organisms, but also symbiotically provide crops with water and nutrients in exchange for sugars exuded by plant roots;

Amendment 93 #

Philippe LOISEAU, Laurenţiu REBEGA, Edouard FERRAND

Motion for a resolution
Recital K b (new)

Kb. whereas a living, healthy soil will guarantee optimal defence and nutrition from beneficial organisms like mycorrhizae or free living nitrogen-fixing bacteria ; whereas these and other beneficial soil organisms are killed off by both synthetic fertiliser and pesticide use, stopping free delivery of the full range of macro- and micro-nutrients and minerals to the plant, rather than only nitrogen and phosphorous in fertilisers which are mostly lost as pollutants in water ; whereas such complete nutrition from a living soil ensures plants grow robustly and resist pest attack better, and that plants are more nutritious and the animals eating them are also healthier ; whereas mycorrhizae act not only as a barrier against pathogenic organisms, but also symbiotically provide crops water and nutrients in exchange for sugars exuded by plant roots;

Amendment 94 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K b (new)

Kb. whereas the talks on the transatlantic free trade agreement (TAFTA) currently under way with the United States are a threat to European agricultural and agri- food production standards; whereas putting in place such an agreement would not only pose a new threat to the income of most farmers, but also be a step backwards with regard to the environment, animal welfare and food security; whereas agriculture and the agri-food sector should therefore be taken out of the talks so as to preserve the potential for agricultural innovation in the European Union;

Amendment 95 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K c (new)

Kc. whereas organic farming and other agro-ecological approaches represents a fusion of longstanding techniques with innovative ones, based on living, self- regenerating and self-strengthening biologically diverse systems;

Amendment 96 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K c (new)

Kc. whereas organic farming represents such a fusion of longstanding techniques with innovative ones, based on living, self- regenerating and self-strengthening systems;

Amendment 97 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K c (new)

Kc. whereas since the proliferation of free trade agreements between the European Union and third countries encourages social and environmental dumping rather than innovation, agriculture should be excluded from these agreements and those already in force should be revised to this effect;

Amendment 98 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

Amendment 99 #