February 28, 2025

 

EU's new vision supports more extensive livestock farming

 

 

The European Union has committed to promoting a more extensive form of livestock farming in its new Vision for Agriculture and Food, saying the sector will "remain an essential part" of EU agriculture.

 

The vision document stated the European Commission will work on strengthening the competitiveness and resilience of sensitive sectors such as livestock, and will present a simplification package that will "contribute to the competitiveness of farmers" while preserving its contribution to "societal objectives".

 

The EU said the livestock sector is particularly vulnerable to various shocks and global competition. High EU standards require European livestock farmers to be world leaders, but their efforts are not reciprocated globally, where they compete on an uneven playing field.

 

However, meeting these standards comes at a cost that the market does not always reward, the document said.

 

"Livestock is and will remain an essential part of EU agriculture, competitiveness and cohesion," it said. "Sustainable livestock is crucial for the EU economy, viability of rural areas and preservation of the environment and of rural landscapes."

 

However, the sector will require a "long-term vision".

 

The vision should respect the diversity and sustainability of livestock production across Europe, the Commission said.

 

Protecting the sector means, according to the Commission, that there cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach, but rather targeted, territorial solutions for the sector's competitiveness and sustainability.

 

"A powerful drive could be given by designing conductive conditions for the development of an "excellence livestock production chain"," the Commission said.

 

The vision document commits the Commission to launching a "work stream on livestock" to develop various policy "pathways" for the sector.

 

The document outlines five such policy pathways, which will include providing a diagnosis of the sector's challenges, including global competition.

 

This workstream will also propose "appropriate tools" to accompany the sector and, where justified, reciprocity measures.

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This body of work will also, the document said, aim to find ways to address its climate and environment footprint, including ways to valorise the link between livestock production and maintenance of environment- and climate-valuable grasslands, through more extensive livestock systems beneficial to the preservation of biodiversity and landscapes.

 

The other steps in the proposed work stream include fostering investments, technological development, and innovation; and enhancing the development of sustainable production models.

 

The outworkings from this workstream will, among other things, serve as the basis for the further basis for the development of a "toolbox" of tailored measures to support the sector in its efforts to reduce emissions.

 

The vision document also said that the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will assess how to support farmers in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from their livestock activities.

 

However, the document said that special attention must be given to improving nutrient management at farm level and increasing "nutrients circularity".

 

"A key aspect of this would be the management and control of nutrients from livestock farming to limit negative externalities, support extensification in regions with high livestock concentrations, and promote circularity which can help reduce the use of synthetic fertilisers," the vision document said.

 

- Agriland