Last week saw France’s agriculture minister, Julien Denormandie, step back from politics altogether after being snubbed for the role of prime minister.
His shoes were quickly filled by Marc Fesneau, who is, despite having a relatively low public profile, well respected in the field of agriculture and received strong backing from the sector.
And, interestingly, alongside a shiny new minister came a shiny new title.
‘Alimentation’ (‘food’) has been officially dropped from the minister’s title in favour of introducing the term ‘food sovereignty’.
And although the change may seem fairly innocuous, its addition and the justifications behind it say a lot about the future direction of France’s – and the EU’s – agriculture sector.
A term coined by the agroecological movement of the 1990s, food sovereignty is defined by the global peasant movement La Via Campesina as “the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems.”
At its core, food sovereignty is centred on local, sustainable food economies. The idea is to place the power back into the hands of the people who produce, distribute, and consume food, rather than corporations and market institutions.
While it is related to food security, food sovereignty is a distinct, separate concept. As La Via Campesina puts it, food security (aka, ensuring there is enough food to go around) is a goal, while food sovereignty describes how we can get there.
After years of championing a stronger home-grown agricultural system, the move officially seals the French government’s focus on boosting food independence, both at the national and EU level.
It will also please France’s largest agricultural lobby, the FNSEA, who wrote in a statement issued a few days before the government reshuffle that the strategic challenges faced by the sector “must be placed under the umbrella of a minister of agriculture and food sovereignty”.
But, asked by EURACTIV about the change during his first doorstop ahead of the meeting of EU agriculture ministers on Tuesday (24 May), Fesneau replied that the addition had less to do with food sovereignty and more with food security.
“It shows the willingness of both France and Europe to ensure food security,” he said, adding that this refers both to quantity and quality.
By using the two terms interchangeably, the original meaning of ‘food sovereignty’ has started to become diluted, lost in a muddle of trade strategy and a push on upping production at all costs, in the latest example in a long line of co-opting various terminologies.
It also left stakeholders wondering, why not call a spade a spade? Why not just go ahead and put food security straight into the title?
The answer, of course, lies in politics – and, with the food system thrust into the limelight with the Ukraine war, food is more political than ever.
With all eyes on the food system, and with food production being increasingly seen as a key security policy, this is a problem that will likely only get worse.
In the chaos of the current geopolitical situation, we must tread carefully and jealously guard the core meanings of these valuable agricultural values and concepts to avoid them being lost and twisted.
By Natasha Foote
Subscribe to EURACTIV’s Agrifood Brief, where you’ll find the latest roundup of news covering agriculture and food from across Europe. The Agrifood Brief is brought to you by EURACTIV’s Agrifood Team – Gerardo Fortuna (@gerardofortuna), Natasha Foote (@NatashaFoote), Julia Dahm (@dahm_julia), and Yaroslava Bukhta (@YaroslavaBukhta)
Podcast
This week, EURACTIV’s agrifood team discusses the agenda for the upcoming meeting of EU agricultural ministers, which will be the first for France’s new agricultural minister, Marc Fesneau, who has a shiny new addition to his title, we talk about a call from MEPs to put the CAP on pause, and we hear from EU Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly about her decision to caution the European Commission over how it will ensure transparency and a balanced representation of interests during the implementation of the CAP reform.
Agrifood stories of the week
Green deal is not dead, Czech agri minister states ahead of EU Presidency
The Green Deal must remain a key priority of the agricultural sector in spite of the war in Ukraine, according to Czech Agriculture Minister Zdeněk Nekula, who is preparing to take over the reins as chair of the EU Agrifish Council in July. Gerardo Fortuna and Natasha Foote have the story.
Von der Leyen: Russia weaponises hunger, grain as way to wield global power
Russia is deliberately weaponising food and hunger to wield global power, according to European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen, who warned that it is the world’s most vulnerable who will bear the brunt of its actions. Natasha Foote reports.
Commission considers easing rules on crop rotation to grow more wheat
The European Commission is open to a German proposal to delay new EU rules on crop rotation in order to increase wheat production in the light of the Ukraine war, after the idea won approval from a number of member states. Julia Dahm and Natasha Foote bring you the latest on that.
France’s new agri and food minister: a familiar face in the industry
While not very known to the public, Marc Fesneau, who will take over France’s renamed Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, is respected in the field but has been criticised for his past record on animal welfare. EURACTIV France’s Hugo Struna give you his profile.
German agri minister pleased with Commission’s criticism of CAP strategic plan
In its observation letter on Germany’s plans for implementing the EU agricultural reform, the European Commission made far-reaching criticisms and called for more environmental and climate protection. German agriculture minister Cem Özdemir, however, welcomes the complaints. EURACTIV Germany reports.
EU agriculture ministers agreed to implement a bird flu vaccine strategy as the bloc struggles with the most violent outbreak in its history. Read more.
Agri-bites
Next EU presidency’s take on the pesticide reduction dossier. In a press briefing on Wednesday (25 May), Czech agriculture minister Zdeněk Nekula – who is preparing to take over the reins as chair of the EU Agrifish Council in July – called for a more tailored approach in the revision of the Sustainable Use of Pesticide Directive, focusing “on those countries where the use of pesticides is very high or above the average.” “I believe it would be much better for the entire European Union if we move from the general approach of 50% reduction in the pesticide use to a more differentiated approach,” he told reporters. He pointed out that certain countries have already made progress on pesticide reduction “and, de facto, they have already achieved the European general target for such a reduction.”
Flexibility between the two CAP pillars. On 20 May, the European Commission proposed an exception measure funded by the rural development fund of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to allow the member states to pay a one-off lump sum to farmers and agri-food businesses affected by significant increases in input costs. The measure aimed at allowing more flexibility in the allocation of EU’s farming subsidies, as member states could decide to use available rural funds of up to 5% for direct income support for farmers and food processors. The amendment needs to be approved by the EU lawmakers and will be discussed at next Monday’s meeting of the European Parliament’s agriculture committee (AGRI):
Food security on leaders’ menus next week. According to draft conclusions, seen by EURACTIV, food security is set to be high on the agenda of next week’s summit. The European Council on 30-31 May is expected to call for an “effective coordination to ensure a comprehensive global food security response” and focus on ways to keep global trade in food commodities flowing. In view of the ongoing fertiliser shortages in the global market, it will also discuss more concerted efforts to work with international partners to promote more efficient use of, and alternatives to, fertilisers.
Pesticides reform negotiations continue. As part of efforts to consolidate and streamline the way the EU collects data in the agricultural sector, the European Commission is reviewing the regulation on agricultural inputs and outputs (SAIO). The next trilogue meeting on the reform is on 2 June next week. The Council published the four-column document earlier this week, which you can find here. See here for more background.
Presence of toxic pesticides in EU-grown fruit doubles in ten years. The level of toxic pesticides in EU-grown fruit has doubled in recent years, a report by the Pesticides Action Network (PAN Europe) has found. The study, published on Tuesday (24 May), analysed 97,170 fruit variety samples grown in the EU. It revealed that from 2011 to 2019, the number of samples contaminated with toxic pesticides went up by 53%. The most contaminated fruits were blackberries, peaches, strawberries and cherries. The highest number of contaminated samples were detected in Belgium (34%), followed by Ireland (26%), France (22%), Italy (21%) and Germany (20%). Find more on EURACTIV’s partner elDiario.
Food security as a bargaining chip for Russian diplomacy. On Wednesday (25 May), the Interfax news agency cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko as saying Russia is ready to provide a humanitarian corridor for vessels carrying food to leave Ukraine, in return for the lifting of some sanctions. The Ukrainian side called it “blackmailing”, while Germany stated it will not rely on Russia to keep any of the promises it makes. Meanwhile, Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi discussed with Putin the ways of food crisis resolution, still with the only suggestion from Russia’s side to lift sanctions. At the same time, Turkey is in negotiations with Russia and Ukraine to open a corridor via the Bosphorus for grain exports from Ukraine.
A Western ‘grain OPEC’ to come? Ukraine has proposed the creation of the Organisation of Grain Exporting Countries, as was announced by the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Markiyan Dmytrasevych. The initiative allegedly will unite the world’s major grain exporters – the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Ukraine, and the EU to coordinate efforts and overcome possible barriers to grain export.
Food price spikes hit Eastern Europe hardest. Central and Eastern European countries have seen the largest increase in food prices in Europe following Russia’s attack on Ukraine, according to data published this week by Germany’s public statistics agency. Looking at consumer food prices in April 2022 versus April 2021, Lithuania, Bulgaria, and Latvia saw the largest upsurge, with 22, 21, and 18%, respectively. This is exacerbated by the fact that many of these same countries are among those where consumers spend the largest share of their household expenditure on food, according to the agency.
Agrifood news from the CAPitals
GERMANY
African swine fever found in new German region. After Germany had been struggling to fight outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) in several Eastern German regions since September 2020, the government’s scientific institute for animal health confirmed (FLI) a case had been detected in the South-Western region of Baden-Württemberg. According to the institute, the infected animal is a domestic pig on a farm keeping around 35 animals near the French border. All remaining animals on the farm were culled and the regional authorities have ramped up protective and monitoring measures, according to the agricultural ministry. (Julia Dahm I EURACTIV.de)
AUSTRIA
New farming minister under fire after botched first interview. Austria’s newly inaugurated agriculture minister, Norbert Totschnig, apologised after drawing flak for a tumultuous first interview with national daily Kronen Zeitung. Totschnig’s press chief had rejected one journalist from the newspaper as a potential interviewer and requested a different one as a condition to go through with the interview – something the reporter brought up during the conversation, leading to a heated discussion between the journalist and Totschnig’s press chief mid-interview. The conservative minister also came under fire for claiming that animal welfare was not part of his responsibilities. While the health ministry is in charge of “general animal welfare matters,” the relevant law makes clear that it is supposed to consult with the agriculture ministry on anything regarding livestock animals. (Julia Dahm I EURACTIV.de)
FRANCE
World’s largest agricultural campus. Cows connected to intelligent digital systems, robots replacing human labour in tasks like milking… On the world’s largest agricultural experimentation site near Paris, a dairy farm is testing out what the future of livestock farming could look like. Find out more from EURACTIV France.
LUXEMBOURG
Luxembourg launches agri sector support package. Luxembourg’s government will support farmers through a package containing six measures, agriculture minister Claude Haagen announced last Friday (20 May). Among other things, the country follows the Commission’s recommendation to temporarily allow production on protected fallow land. The package also foresees financial aid to pig farms facing economic difficulties, as well as a temporary reduction of fuel used for agricultural purposes until the end of July. According to the ministry, the package is set to address “the price spikes for energy and fertilisers, as well as the rising world rates of cereal and notably animal feed.” (Julia Dahm I EURACTIV.de)
SPAIN
Spanish stone fruit production lowest in decade. Spain will produce around one million tons of stone fruit this year, the lowest figure in the last decade and 29.43% lower than in 2021, according to the first campaign estimates of the cooperatives association Agro-food, which EURACTIV’s partner Efeagro has seen.
ITALY
CAP plan ready and approved by summer. “I am convinced that our CAP national strategic plan will be finalised and approved by the end of July,” Italy’s farm minister Stefano Patuanelli told reporters after a meeting with EU agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski on the sidelines of the Agrifish Council on Tuesday (24 May). He put forward again the idea to postpone the entry into force of the new CAP for a period of six months to a year, instead of revising it in light of the market disruption caused by Ukraine’s invasion. “However, I don’t think there are many margins to achieve this, but it is what I felt like proposing rather than questioning the EU objectives,” he concluded.
HUNGARY
Hungary keen to support Ukraine’s grain exports. The Hungarian government is working hard to help Kyiv sell grain abroad, according to Agriculture Minister István Nagy, who described the instability of Ukraine’s grain export in light of Russia’s invasion as an “emergency”. Get the full story here.
UKRAINE
EU integration brought by trains. Ukraine plans to build a Eurorail in order to better integrate into the European system, the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Alexander Kubrakov said. The step is needed due to the difference in track width between Ukrainian and European railways, preventing Ukraine from exporting more grains and causing logistics delays. Along with the seaports, blockade logistics difficulties are among the reasons the agriculture export from Ukraine already fell three times.
United Kingdom
UK gears up to relax rules on gene editing. The UK government introduced a bill to Parliament on Wednesday paving the way for genetically edited plants and animals to be grown and raised for food in England. The proposed new legislation would relax regulations for gene-edited crops, meaning that genetically altered foods could soon be on their way to supermarket shelves. The UK government has not been shy about its ambitions to change the rules governing gene-editing after its departure from the EU. However, the technology remains controversial among consumers – a poll taken by the government’s department of environment, food and rural affairs (DEFRA) showed only 57% of people surveyed supported the use of genetically edited crops. (Natasha Foote | EURACTIV.com)
LITHUANIA
The Lithuanian foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, proposed a plan during talks with his UK counterpart, Liz Truss, in London on Monday to organise a naval escort operation for Ukrainian ships – not run by NATO – to pass the Russian ships. Read more here.
GREECE
“Artemis II”: a digital firewall against illegal imports. The Greek agricultural organisation Demeter (ELGO DEMETER) has presented the digital programme “Artemis II” to the Agriculture Minister Georgios Georgantas. Through “Artemis II”, the controls of the supervisory authorities throughout the production, standardisation and marketing of milk are set to become more effective, as through this upgraded system, irregularities and illegal activities are detected. The system is designed to protect consumers and producers from illegal imports. “There will be a very strict, but also a clear framework within which our producers and our processing and dairy companies will be able to operate in a clear way, to produce, to add value to the product, but we will not allow anyone to exploit the existing system,” said the minister. (Georgia Evangelia Karagianni| EURACTIV.gr)
CROATIA
Croatia offers Adriatic ports as Ukraine’s wheat export route. Croatia’s Adriatic ports could offer an alternative route for transporting grains from Ukraine, whose Black Sea ports remain blocked, according to a foreign ministry official. Get more info here.
Events
30-31 May | Special European Council with food security as a point on the agenda
30 May | Meeting of the European Parliament’s agriculture committee (AGRI) with the presentation of an evaluation report on the CAP impact on biodiversity and the presentation of the EU-Ukraine Solidarity lanes
30 May | Joint meeting of European Parliament’s economic affairs (ECON) and food safety (ENVI) committees on the Taxonomy Delegated Act
30 May | Meeting of the European Parliament’s environment and food safety committee (ENVI) with an exchange of views with Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius
31 May | Global food security at risk in the aftermath of the Ukrainian war, online conference by the European Economic and Social Committee
1 June | Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) preparatory to next Agrifish Council
1 June | Working Party on Int’l Food and Agricultural Questions (Codex Alimentarus)
1-2 June | Two releases from EUROSTAT on slaughtering and slaughterings other than in slaughterhouses are expected to be published
2 June | Joint meeting of European Parliament’s development (DEVE) and food safety (ENVI) committees on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)