New European Parliament Draft Report Highlights the Importance of Strong Advisory Services and Knowledge Networks

The European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) has prepared a new draft report entitled “Strengthening competitiveness, resilience and fairness in EU agriculture.”

The report, prepared by rapporteur Marko Vešligaj, addresses some of the main structural, economic, social and environmental challenges facing European agriculture. It presents a number of proposals aimed at strengthening the long-term viability of farms, improving the position of farmers and supporting more resilient rural areas.

Strengthening the competitiveness and resilience of European agriculture

The report stresses that the future of European agriculture depends on the ability to pursue competitiveness, sustainability, resilience and fairness at the same time.

It highlights a number of pressures currently affecting farmers, including rising production costs, market volatility, climate-related risks, limited access to land and finance, administrative complexity and imbalances within the food supply chain.

Among its main priorities, the report calls for:

• a strong and adequately financed Common Agricultural Policy;
• fair and stable incomes for farmers;
• stronger support for small and medium-sized farms;
• better access to land and finance for young and new farmers;
• a stronger position for farmers within the food supply chain;
• support for producer organisations, cooperatives and other forms of collective action;
• investment in rural infrastructure, water management and climate adaptation;
• administrative simplification and greater transparency;
• stronger support for generational renewal and gender equality.

The report also underlines the importance of continued investment in rural areas, including transport, digital connectivity, education, healthcare, processing and storage facilities and other services that enable people to live and work in rural communities.

An important role for agricultural advisory services

The report places particular emphasis on the modernisation and digitalisation of agriculture, as well as on advisory services, professional training and knowledge exchange.

It calls for these developments to be adequately financed and accessible to farms of all sizes. The report also highlights the importance of research, innovation, lifelong learning and workforce upskilling in helping farmers adopt new technologies, improve productivity and respond to economic, environmental and climate-related challenges.

Strengthening cooperation and knowledge exchange between farmers, advisers, researchers and other relevant actors can support the practical uptake of innovation and contribute to a more competitive, resilient and sustainable agricultural sector.

What does this mean for the SEASN region?

The priorities identified in the report are highly relevant to agriculture and agricultural advisory organisations across South-Eastern Europe.

Small and medium-sized farms play an important role throughout the SEASN region, but many of them face challenges related to access to finance, land fragmentation, market position, generational renewal, climate change, rural infrastructure and the adoption of new technologies.

Strong and accessible advisory services can help ensure that these farms are not left behind in the transition towards more sustainable, digital and resilient agriculture. Advisers can translate European and national policies into practical solutions, support farmers in accessing funding and introduce innovations that reflect local conditions and farmers’ actual needs.

For SEASN, the report further confirms the importance of cooperation between agricultural advisory services, cross-border knowledge exchange, continuous professional development of advisers and stronger links between farmers, research institutions and policymakers.

It also highlights the need to ensure that the specific characteristics and needs of agriculture in South-Eastern Europe are represented in discussions on the future of European agricultural and rural development policies.

As the document is still a draft, it may be further amended during the parliamentary process. Nevertheless, it provides an important overview of the priorities that could influence the future direction of EU agricultural policy and the work of agricultural advisory services.

 

Further information is available in the full draft report and in the summary of its main findings and recommendations: