Conferences / Future of Agriculture / Program

First Forum for the Future of Agriculture – 27 March 2008

 

Willem-Jan Laan – Unilever

 

 

In ELO’s Country-side nr. 104 (Febr. 2007) I read:

 

  The food security crisis is among the greatest upcoming risks faced by the planet (Michel Barnier, Fr)
  Europe ’s agriculture requires a deep reform. The adaptation to new world realities is essential (Rolf Eriksson, Sw)
  Europe must be able to produce more (Jean Martin, CIAA)
  A report of the seminar Food, Feed and Bioenergy: priorities and dilemmas.

 

But how about the perspective from the Agri-Food Industry? What do we need from agriculture?

 

  Higher yields
  Quality and safety of ingredients
  Availability of raw material at competitive prices
  Sustainable agriculture, protecting the environment

 

Higher Yields : If you consider the yield gap between the most productive and less productive regions in the EU we conclude that progress can be made. Good agricultural practice, using the right mix of inputs and varieties, will contribute to higher yields.

 

Quality and safety of ingredients : Consumers and customers have strict requirements with regard to the safety and quality of the agricultural produce. The safety standards are pre-competitive and should be adhered to. Quality outside the safety area is something that should not be regulated with additional legislation. This should be market led and consumers should give the orientation by repeated purchases. The agri-food industry will respond to the consumer preferences.

 

Availability of raw material at competitive prices : We support proposals to eliminate the set-aside provisions and the energy premium for first generation energy crops. We want to secure the availability for the food, feed and drink industries. Today a quantity equal to two-third of the European rapeseed oil crop is used for bio-diesel in Europe. This could increase to 100% in the coming year if we continue the expansion. For us this is a burning issue.

 

Sustainable Agriculture, protecting the environment . We believe sustainable agriculture is all about agriculture in practice. We are aware that a number of initiatives have the objective to contribute to good agricultural practice (GAP). We see guidelines, standards, cross-compliance conditions and actual improvements. One example from the UK: Forum for Sustainable Farming uses 10 sustainability indicators: Soil health, soil loss, level of nutrients, pest management, biodiversity, product value, energy and emissions balance, water, social and human capital and the local economy.

 

The foreseeable future (the 21 st century)

 

Considering the demands in the future, we see an extension of the needs from agriculture:

  Energy efficiency and the production of energy.
  GHG-emission reduction (incl. fertilisers and methane).
  Water scarcity and water quality.
  Civil society demands with regard to biodiversity.

 

How to deal with these demands?

Energy

The high energy prices will trigger energy efficiency programmes. This could also affect the location of production. Energy transition programmes may offer some support for energy intensive sectors.
The production of energy is a hot topic (sun, wind, different types of biomass). A large group of experts (NGO’s, academics, politicians and international organisations) call for caution with regard to first generation biofuels. I quote professor John Beddington (chief scientific adviser of the UK Government):

  The agriculture industry needs to double its food production, using less water than today. The food crisis
     would bit more quickly than climate change.
  The biofuel industry delivered a major shock to world food prices. There are real problems with
     unsustainability.
  It is very hard to imagine how we can see a world growing enough crops to produce renewable energy and
     at the same time meet the enormous increase in the demand for food.
  Science and research to increase the efficiency of agricultural production per unit of land is critical.

 

Climate Change

According to IFPRI, we will see that climate change risks will have adverse impacts on food production. With the increased risks of droughts and floods due to rising temperatures, cereal yields in more than 40 developing countries are expected to decline in the future. Government policies to limit GHG-emissions will also affect the agricultural sector. An overall GHG-balance which includes the full life cycle (including the emissions of the inputs) and specific reduction targets could best be anticipated.

 

Water

According to WWF, agriculture takes too much water from some of our most biodiverse river basins. We have to deal with this competition for water, which is imminent in certain production regions. At the same time, we are faced with the quality requirements for water (the Water Directive) and specific issues with regard to leakage of inputs into the ground water. Availability of water could also be a competitive advantage.

 

Biodiversity

Both at global and at local level. We need to protect the environment and its biodiversity in order to secure the production conditions for future food supply. Civil society and the ultimate consumer of our products require and may appreciate best practice in this area. We market Lipton tea certified by the Rainforest Alliance, which seems to be an overall win-win proposition.

 

Concluding Remark

This Forum has rightly identified food security as one of the challenges for the Future of Agriculture. Making the right choices requires adequate assessments of the costs/benefits of policy measures. We have the opinion that this has not been done adequately yet.

 

At the same time we believe that partnerships in the supply chains could bring mutual benefits. We will continue to invest in these partnerships for a sustainable future.