Why the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy is a unique chance to radically change agriculture and food production

By Livio Tedeschi, Senior Vice President - Agricultural Solutions Europe, Africa, Middle East, CIS Countries, BASF SE

With the Farm to Fork Strategy, the European Commission wants to move a step closer towards its vision of making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. The Farm to Fork Strategy is not a regulation or directive. It’s rather a declaration of intent and, therefore, a unique opportunity for all stakeholders of the European food system to unite and define a roadmap towards a common goal – a more sustainable food production.

I am passionate about a new vision of agriculture, which continues its mission to produce high-quality, affordable food, but actively tackles some of the biggest challenges our society faces, such as climate change, biodiversity and resources. That’s why I think the Farm to Fork Strategy presents our industry with the biggest case for change of the last decades.

In the past, production of higher quantities of food without increasing the amount of land dedicated to agricultural production has driven innovation efforts of all players in the industry. Now, the Farm to Fork Strategy wants agriculture to secure food supply and meet additional goals, such as the prevention of climate change and an increase in biodiversity. This means, agricultural players have to redefine their research and development processes, their business models and their partnerships across the industry – as described by my colleague Dirk Voeste.

At this stage, the Farm to Fork Strategy only highlights initial implementation milestones. It hence provides the European Commission and all stakeholders of the food chain to jointly develop possible action plans. Many of these plans will require fundamental choices in a series of trade-offs related to agricultural productivity, the use of land and even the overall competitiveness of the European Union in agricultural products trading. 

For example, by 2030, the Commission wants to reduce the overall use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50% and the use of more hazardous pesticides by 50%. Yet, chemical crop protection products are one of the biggest drivers of agricultural productivity. Such a reduction would lead to considerably lower productivity per hectar of land, if not replaced by alternative solutions. Better management of the food supply chain and food waste will help, but certainly not close the gap.

Technologies such as precision farming, data-driven agriculture, seed breeding and innovation in crop protection can lead to a reduction of risk and use of pesticides, contribute to a lower CO₂ footprint and increase biodiversity. But this requires the European Union to create the regulatory and legal environment for them to thrive and companies to refocus their innovation investments on those technologies. Regulatory restrictions slowing down the introduction of new-generation crop protection products or high hurdles for advanced breeding techniques, for example, will have to be reconsidered if we want a realistic path towards the Farm to Fork goals.

BASF is one of the many stakeholders in this process, and we are ready to take up the challenge and play our part. Even more, we have already begun with our own transformational efforts towards a future agriculture that actively reduces CO₂ emissions, preserves biodiversity, minimizes the use of natural resources and ensures farmers’ capacity to produce sufficient, safe, nutritious and affordable food for all.

Driving such a complex ecosystem towards common and highly transformative objectives, requires a new mindset and a new level of collaboration across all stakeholders. The Farm to Fork Strategy will greatly accelerate the change in mindset, but players in the agricultural and food sector have to intensify the dialogue across the industry, with consumers and political stakeholders.

BASF in agriculture has been fueled for more than a century by a great passion for farming, the biggest job on Earth, and by the appreciation of farmers’ contribution to society around the world. Our wish to combine the precision of science with the emotions of food-growing makes us eager to continue our transformational journey in the direction highlighted by the Farm to Fork Strategy. We are ready to accelerate our action plan to achieve its goals.

Thanks to our focus on innovation across seeds, chemical and biological crop protection and digital farming solutions, combined with a holistic approach to farm management, we have an excellent foundation to be a serious contributor to the EU’s Farm to Fork vision. We value the opportunity to constructively discuss how to find the right balance for success.