EU4 Develop a Water Friendly Agriculture in Europe.

Conseil de l'Agriculture Française

Tue, 13/03/2012 / Tue, 13/03/2012

The performance of the European Agriculture has been significant for the past half century. Agriculture has intensified and intensification in turn has increased pressure on the environment. It reaches a point where production security is questioning sustainable natural resources management and a balanced territory-based development. The European agriculture is facing emerging challenges such as its adaptation to climate change, energy dependence, biodiversity and wildlife interconnections, public good and services supply, in addition to its goal which consists in feeding ever growing populations. Several initiatives involving the farmers, local authorities, public bodies, water companies and the private sector have been blooming through the continent for the past years that this session aims at emphasizing. They are reproducible or innovative examples showing that sustainable water usage in agriculture is possible. However participative efforts and spontaneous initiatives must be supported by solid legal, financial and policy instruments that the coming Common Agriculture Policy has the heavy load to implement. It is the condition for reaching a right balance between an ambitious immediate productivity purpose and a long term social and environmental public concern.

Conseil de l'Agriculture Française
(Marseille, France)