FEFAC welcomes European Commission Vision for Agriculture and Food

On 19 February 2025 the European Commission released its Vision for Agriculture and Food, presented as an ambitious roadmap on the future of farming and food in Europe. The roadmap sets the stage for an attractive, competitive, resilient, future-oriented and fair agri-food system for current and future generations of farmers and agri-food operators. FEFAC welcomes the European Commission’s commitment and attention for driving positive change in the world of agriculture, taking into account the agricultural sector’s challenges to remain viable as a business. FEFAC is particularly interested in the “reinforced focus on livestock to foster the long-term future of the sector” with an announced dedicated vision & workstream.

The Vision draws attention to the dependency on imports to Europe’s protein supply, making the food system vulnerable to global market fluctuations and sustainability risks. FEFAC welcomes the development of a comprehensive plan to address these challenges, integrating policy, research and on the ground efforts to create a more self-sufficient and sustainable EU protein system, while at the same time diversifying imports. Indeed, FEFAC recognises this persisting, strategic challenge that accompanies the sourcing of feed protein and FEFAC therefore encourages the Commission to undertake serious action to boost European protein production.

FEFAC welcomes that the livestock sector is seen as an essential part of European agriculture, competitiveness and cohesion, which will receive a dedicated long-term vision. FEFAC members are fully committed to support the European livestock sector transition towards more sustainable production models with the help of advanced feeding techniques, addressing increased competitiveness and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

FEFAC President Pedro Cordero: “We appreciate and acknowledge the reference to technological advancements in feeding strategies as part of the toolbox of tailored measures to support the sector and regions in their efforts to reduce emissions in livestock production. As circularity and bioeconomy are referenced in the Vision as key attributes in agriculture, we would recommend to also recognise the contribution of using circular feed in livestock production”.

FEFAC President Pedro Cordero is a member of the European Board for Agriculture & Food (EBAF), where he will continue to make recommendations on how the European compound feed and premix sector can contribute to the ambitions for sustainable livestock farming expressed in the Vision for Agriculture as well as further expand on the vulnerabilities European feed production is exposed to as regards import reliance on essential feed additives, vitamins and amino acids.