On Monday 28th November, members from the Agri-Food Chain Coalition (AFCC) had the pleasure to attend an event in the European Parliament hosted by the MEP Marlene Mortler from EPP, and member of the AGRI Committee. The event focused on common solutions to be implemented from private and public actors to overcome the current challenges related to food security, geopolitical volatility, and skyrocketing prices due to inflation across European countries and beyond.
MEP Marlene Mortler’s opening statement reflected on the need to advance practical and affordable solutions to comply with the overarching objectives of the EU Green Deal and the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies. Ms. Mortler invited the European Commission to rethink all targets and current legislation to support innovation and precision technologies to safeguard food security in Europe and worldwide.
The Director of the FAO Liaison Office in Brussels Raschad Al-Khafaji provided a speech about the fact that “food security cannot be taken for granted” and that all actors involved across the agri-food chain, from decision-makers to governments and from businesses to consumers, are involved in the process of tackling food insecurity through partnerships and cooperation.
As closing statement of the event, the AFCC Chair Ana Granados Chapatte from EFFAB, The European Forum of Farm Animal Breeders, highlighted that ‘the AFCC has a big responsibility towards the future of the agri-food system by cooperating with MEPs through effective policies”’; she added that “smart policies such as the one on New Genomic Techniques and other innovations can help making our agri-food more resilient and sustainable”.
After the event, all members of AFCC and the other attendees had the opportunity to have extensive interaction and entertainment inside the European Parliament.
The Agri-Food Chain Coalition (AFCC) is a joint initiative representing 11 associations across the agri-food system. Members represent European farmers, cooperatives, and companies from the agriculture and livestock sector, farm equipment, plant and animal breeders, fertilisers, crop protection, animal health, feed, biotechnology-based products, and the agricultural trade.
