March 22, 2022

FEFAC: Europe should focus on encouraging domestic cultivation of plant protein

COPA & COGECA, FEFAC and EUROSEEDS have called on the European Commission to take a leading role in promoting the domestic cultivation and use of European plant sourced protein.

The organisations said that there is no simple solution to deal with the European Union’s deficit in high protein sources. Despite the advances in plant breeding, cultivation and processing technology, Europe is not likely to reach self-sufficiency entirely in the short or mid-term.

In order to achieve a sustainable EU protein plan and offer European farmers new ways to adapt supply to changing demand, the European plant protein sector needs to be competitive, of high quality and resilient to the numerous economic, environmental, climatic and technological challenges, the organisations said. To reach such goals, consistent European and EU member state policies are required.

The organisations called for a set of measures with the aim of increasing the domestic protein production to reduce dependency on imports, increase diversity in crop use and lower carbon footprint. These measures include:

    - Providing a consistent EU framework enabling European protein value chains' competitiveness;

    - Providing meaningful and long-term incentives to stakeholders;

    - Developing a balance sheet to track productions and consumptions of food plant protein, and supporting the development of national feed protein balance sheets;

    - Developing innovation-friendly framework for competitive research and development to support educational communication to consumers on EU sustainable agricultural production practices and the benefits of a diversified and balanced diet that include plant protein-based food.

- FEFAC