Future CAP needs reform to deliver on the future of food and farming

Representing almost a third of the EU’s budget, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is crucial to shape the EU’s common framework for action to reach the EU’s environmental goals in the agri-food system. As the report of the 29 members of the Strategic Dialogue on the future of EU agriculture shows, a transition to sustainable agri-food systems is necessary and there are solutions that work for farmers, nature and society. These recommendations, from across the agri-food sector, civil society and the world of science, bridge the EU’s objectives by proposing concrete steps and strategies for implementation.

As European organic movement, we issue a united call for a CAP fit for the future. Our vision and position is that a CAP fit for the future is in line with the Strategic Dialogue’s opinion that a transition to sustainable agri-food systems is necessary and there are solutions that work for farmers, nature and society.

To achieve this, the CAP needs an ambitious reform to enable an agroecological transition of Europe’s agriculture, while:

1. Supporting all farmers who want to transform their farms sustainably using a whole-farm approach;
2. Adequately rewarding farmers engaged in sustainability systems, such as organic farmers, for the benefits they already deliver to the environment and society; and
3. Ensuring the sector’s competitiveness.

Agriculture is a cornerstone of the European way of life, and the current challenges it faces should not be used to exacerbate polarisation but rather  be addressed collectively. Read our press release on the future CAP and our vision on a CAP fit for the future.