Europe’s response to food security concerns brought to the fore amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine should focus on the “synergies” that exist between the production of food and environmental sustainability, according to former European Commissioner for Agriculture Dacian Ciolos.

Ciolos urged policymakers to “rethink the link” between sustainability and food production in relation to the Farm to Fork strategy, the EU Biodiversity strategy and other sustainability proposals due to come from the European Commission over the remainder of the next year, rather than trying to simply shelve such policies.

“The right way to do things now is to take into account the need to produce, to still maintain production capacity, but to use all sustainable measures in order to organise food production for the next year in a sustainable manner,” he said on Wednesday.

Now a sitting Romanian MEP, Ciolos spoke at the launch of a policy paper containing 15 food security proposals, compiled by a food security taskforce set up within the Renew grouping in the European Parliament.

Fianna Fáil’s two MEPs, Billy Kelleher and Barry Andrews, are also members of this parliamentary grouping.

Assessments needed

The policy document acknowledges that “proper assessments” are needed to determine the “feasibility of the targets proposed” in EU green strategies.

It also proposes measures including the use of non-chemical fertilisers, finding alternatives to chemical pesticides and better input efficiency, Ciolos explained.

The market approval of alternatives to chemical fertilisers and synthetic plant protection products were mentioned specifically as decisions that should be “sped up” in the efforts to both replace disrupted supplies and improve the sustainability of the sector.

Policy document

The document addressed four different aspects of food security in the medium-term and included recommendations that recognised the importance of farming in the EU to those living outside member states, particularly in vulnerable regions of the world, like Africa or southeast Asia.

The policy areas covered in the proposals were those of improving resilience in EU food systems, bettering the “international dimension” to food security, navigating farmer input challenges and building on-farm sustainability.

Regarding farm inputs, the MEP stated that both availability and affordability concerns must be addressed to ensure greater food security, recognising that present issues being experienced by farmers in this regard may continue beyond the end of the year.