Boosting organic farming is one of the Green New Deal's strategies for a carbon-neutral Europe. We discuss it with the president of Federbio, Maria Grazia Mammuccini.
On 11 December last, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the contents of the Green New Deal, the European green pact that aims to transform Europe into the first zero-emissions continent in terms of CO2 by 2050. An objective that is at once "the greatest challenge and opportunity of our time" and which von der Leyen likened to the moon landing.
The plan is a set of strategies to tackle climate change, and the Commission has already announced its intention to propose a law to turn this political commitment into a legal obligation and stimulate investment across all sectors of the economy, from energy to construction, from industry to mobility, from agriculture to food. With regard to the latter, the Green Deal intends to promote the most sustainable practices, including organic farming. We discussed this with Maria Grazia Mammuccini, president of Federbio.
What is your overall assessment of the Green New Deal? Is it a feasible mission?
It is certainly an ambitious mission, but a necessary one. The Green New Deal is an advanced document that marks a paradigm shift, but it can only be realised if all political and regulatory efforts are directed towards the goal and if there is commitment and participation from everyone, from institutions to citizens.
What references are there to organic farming in the Green New Deal?
The plan states that agriculture and food will also have to play their part in the transition. The "Farm to Fork" strategy, to be presented by spring 2020, declares the aim of guaranteeing European citizens a sustainable food chain, with healthy, nutritious and high-quality food produced in an environmentally responsible manner and at affordable prices; it proposes to boost organic farming and to reduce dependence on pesticides, fertilisers and antibiotics, with a clear indication that the national strategic plans of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) should fully reflect the ambition of the Green New Deal and reward virtuous farmers. The plan also includes a dedicated strategy for the protection of biodiversity, likewise announced for March 2020. The Green New Deal also contains some important principles, such as the alignment of trade agreements and taxation with climate objectives, so as to favour the most sustainable products.
What could concretely be done, right away, to support organic farming?
Over the past ten years we have witnessed strong growth in the organic sector, driven above all by a new awareness among consumers. Now we need to structure a system — a fair supply chain that avoids the risk of a race to the lowest price. Space must be given to all the diversity within organic farming, from large enterprises to small producers.
In Italy there is an organic farming law still awaiting approval…
Yes, there are those who worked to block the law using misleading data; now the hope is that, with this kind of direction at European level, the measure — already passed by the Chamber of Deputies — can complete its parliamentary process as soon as possible. The text contains many important new provisions, including recognition of the social and environmental role of organic production, the establishment of an Italian organic label, support for the formation of associative and contractual arrangements to strengthen the organic supply chain, the adoption of the National Organic Seed Plan, and the creation of organic districts, which are already taking shape without any specific legislation in place.
What does choosing organic mean for consumers today?
Organic certification has a very precise set of regulations that guarantee organic products an immediate positive impact on the environment. First and foremost, organic farming contributes to maintaining soil fertility; second, it does not use synthetic chemicals; third, it promotes biodiversity. Thanks to organic farming, conventional agriculture has also taken many quality steps forward in recent years: this is why, with organic, we must continue to raise the bar, to represent the most advanced frontier of agriculture, and we can do this by continuing to invest in research and innovation with the resources available to us.