The European Commission has unveiled its New Vision for Agriculture and Food, which sets out a comprehensive scenario for the development of the European agriculture and food sector. Professional environmental and climate protection organisations say the steps are not enough, but that is probably not what the decision-makers have set out to achieve.
The European Commission presented its “Vision for Agriculture and Food 2025” in February 2025, which aims to create a more attractive, competitive, resilient, sustainable and fairer agriculture and food system for European farmers and agri-food operators. Among other things, the strategy responds to the growing challenges facing the agricultural sector, such as environmental requirements, the digital divide, the ageing of farmers and increasing global competition from imported products.
The strategy identifies four main priority areas:
- Making agriculture more attractive;
- Strengthening competitiveness and resilience;
- Developing a sustainable and future-proof agriculture and food system;
- Ensuring fair living and working conditions in rural areas.
Making agriculture more attractive
According to the strategy, the agricultural sector can only be sustainable in the long term if it becomes an attractive career for new generations. The current situation is made more difficult by the fact that the average age of EU farmers is 57, while the proportion of farmers under 40 is just 12% and falling.
The Commission has approached this problem from several angles: through the Generational Renewal Strategy, it proposes ways to attract young people into the sector, and through the concept of a stable income to combat unfair commercial practices. They also want to help farmers with new sources of income, such as targeted financial assistance, advice for young people or carbon credits (offsetting emissions by supporting environmental projects, an activity often branded as greenwashing.)
The aim is for agriculture to provide not only survival but economic stability and growth opportunities for future generations.
Strengthening competitiveness and resilience
The global food market is increasingly competitive and European farmers are often at a disadvantage against cheaper imported products produced to lower standards. To counter this, the EU is working on the following:
- More uniform production requirements will be introduced for imported products to ensure that they also comply with EU rules (e.g. on pesticide use, animal welfare).
- European agricultural exports will be promoted, opening up new markets for EU products.
- Increased food safety controls will be introduced to ensure that EU consumers are guaranteed safe products on the market.
- A red-tape reduction programme will be launched in 2025 to simplify access to farm subsidies and reduce administrative burdens.
As well as boosting competitiveness, food sovereignty is also a priority: the EU aims to avoid being vulnerable to global food crises. These ideas can of course have a positive impact on the European market, but it is not certain that this is solely an internal message. For example, the Commission’s stricter requirements for imported products, which could be determined on a case-by-case basis, could be aimed at discouraging US crops (e.g. soybeans), for reasons that are less technical than political.
Developing a sustainable and future-proof agriculture and food system
The vision also outlined the introduction of reforms to reduce the ecological footprint of the agricultural sector along four main pillars:
- “On-farm Sustainability Compass” – a voluntary sustainability measurement system for farmers to help them become more environmentally conscious.
- A new EU Digital Agricultural Strategy – developing precision farming technologies, smart irrigation and digitalisation.
- A new water management strategy – introducing more efficient water use and water retention systems. Proposals are currently being sought from relevant stakeholders to make the strategy as practical as possible.
- Reducing insecticide use, but only at a pace that ensures the availability of suitable alternatives.
The aim is for European agriculture to both secure food supply and reduce environmental pressures, thereby contributing to reducing the scale of climate change and adapting to its inevitable impacts. However, it can be seen that policy makers have adopted a slightly different approach to climate protection from the EU’s approach to date. Recent discontent (e.g. farmers’ protests) in the agricultural sector has provided sufficient grounds to rationalise the often contradictory and counterproductive policy choices made so far. Naturally, professional organisations have described the new vision as weak and inadequate, highlighting, among other things, the cautious steps taken to reform area-based payments. In preliminary discussions, experts agreed that income support should be withdrawn from the largest farms – but this part was dropped from the final text.
Ensuring fair living and working conditions in rural areas
It is clear from the priorities presented so far that the Commission has placed a strong emphasis on social issues. A related aim is to ensure that rural areas are not just agricultural centres, but also liveable, growing communities. Under the new Rural Action Plan, the following measures are foreseen:
- Developing rural infrastructure – fast internet, transport, public services.
- Launch of an annual “Food Dialogue” forum – a dialogue between consumers, farmers and businesses on food market challenges.
- Reduce food waste and tighten animal welfare standards.
- Promote short supply chains to increase the role of locally produced products in public catering and retailing.
These measures can contribute to increasing the population retention capacity of rural areas and better social integration of the agricultural sector.
Outlook on Hungarian agriculture
The European Commission’s new vision for Europe’s agri-food sector sets out a comprehensive reform agenda that will have a significant impact on the Hungarian agricultural sector. A positive vision is that farmers can become more competitive, earn fairer incomes and gain greater respect from society, while production becomes more sustainable and rural communities are strengthened. By supporting digitalisation and innovation, the efficiency of Hungarian agriculture can be increased, and a focus on sustainability will contribute to preserving our natural resources and guaranteeing food security. Supporting young farmers and promoting generational change is particularly welcome, as it will secure the future of the sector and bring fresh impetus to the rural economy. The latter would be extremely important for Hungarian agriculture, as the average age of farmers in Hungary is very high (57.9 years according to 2020 data), similar to EU statistics.
At the same time, the challenges should not be underestimated. Critics of the strategy point out that in the absence of concrete implementation steps, the vision can easily remain a declaration of intent. The reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) after 2027 will be key to delivering on these promises. In the short term, there will certainly be additional costs for the transition, as well as new investments required by digitalisation or environmental compliance. In the long term, however, the implementation of the strategy could lead to a more viable and sustainable agricultural economy, capable of producing sufficient and safe food, preserving our rural values and remaining competitive in the face of the challenges of the 21st century.
Kép: IPES-Food
