S3P T&BD
The EU Agri-Food Days was held in Brussels from 10 to 12 December. This event allowed stakeholders to discuss the outlook of European agriculture and to reflect on current and upcoming challenges in the European agri-food sector and assess how the common agricultural policy and the EU Green Deal can contribute to deliver a greener, fairer and more competitive agriculture in Europe.
The 3-day event started with the opening address for the 2024 EU Agri-Food Days. The focus was on the vision for agriculture and food. European farmers then had the opportunity to share their stories. Participants also discussed the position of farmers in the food value chain and the outlook for EU agricultural markets.
During the second day, the focus was on the drivers shaping the market outlook, the publication of the latest EU Agriculture Outlook report, and discussions with industry representatives and experts on market trends, challenges and opportunities.
The topics of sustainable competitiveness and trade policies supporting food sovereignty as well as research and innovation for a competitive, sustainable and resilient agricultural sector were also covered.
About the publication of the EU Agriculture Outlook report, a joint effort between the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission presented a set of projections for the main EU agricultural sectors. The analyses of agricultural markets rely on data available until mid-September 2024 for agricultural production and trade, based on a set of macroeconomic assumptions deemed the most plausible at the time of the analysis.
The projections reflect the current CAP, as well as policy actions and free trade agreements in place or ratified until the end of September 2024. This report serves as a baseline for future analytical work by the European Commission, but as concreted by the Commission, it should not be interpreted as a forecast, due to the inevitable uncertainties surrounding macroeconomic developments, geopolitical and trade relations, and climate change impacts.
The third and last day of the EU Agri-Food Days put the spotlight on farmers’ real-world experiences of digitalisation in agriculture. The focus was on practical insights and lessons learnt from the field. Participants looked at how digitalisation and data sharing contribute to a dynamic and forward-looking agricultural sector.