By Fatima Saka
The European Commission plans to set an EU-binding 50% pesticide reduction target by 2030 but leave member states free to set their own national targets, according to a leaked proposal to revise the EU’s pesticide framework obtained by EURACTIV.
Trade barriers are not only limited to sustainability aspects. From the other side of the Mediterranean, European farmers are seen as better organised, even in cooperatives and advocacy groups as the rest of the gap is made by the lack of public support for agriculture and access to markets, affecting the competitiveness of small-scale African farmers.
“The EU cannot by itself remedy the situation – that would be neocolonialist. But we can, as a partner, help Africans in certain ways to improve the sustainable productivity in agriculture across the continent,” said Commission’s John Clarke.
“Every farmer is every day in competition with the best other farmers in the world. But the playing field is not level,” said Theo de Jager, President, World Farmers’ Organisation.
The EU official John Clarke agreed that the future for a more productive agricultural sector in Africa, as in Europe, depends on technology, providing growers with more digital solutions and precision farming.
“We’re all engaged in not only a green transition, but a digital transition, both in Europe and with our partners, and in particular, Africa, who has a priority,” he said.