The Agri-Food Chain Coalition (AFCC) is a joint initiative representing 11 associations across the agri-food system and promoting innovative solutions to tackle challenges the sector faces. Members represent European farmers, cooperatives, and companies from the agriculture and livestock sector, farm equipment, plant and animal breeders, fertilisers, crop protection, animal health, feed, biotechnology-based products, and agricultural trade.
Geopolitical volatility, and in particular the war in Ukraine, are seriously impacting food security and affordability worldwide. In combination with climate change, this has quickly become a legitimate concern, threatening the resilience of EU food production by jeopardising access to affordable food for many of our fellow citizens.
The EU agri-food supply chain is facing unique challenges as a result of the rising prices and scarcity of energy and other essential inputs needed to guarantee food autonomy. We are seeing disruptions to food supply chains in the EU and negative impacts on rural and coastal communities. Regardless of the agriculture and farming methods, from organic to more conventional activities, we are all experiencing strong negative impacts.
On the consumer side, inflation, and in particular food inflation, in the European Union is reaching record-breaking levels, affecting the way citizens access affordable, safe, and nutritious food. The ability to ensure the three pillars of sustainable development is now compromised, more than ever.
To ensure food autonomy, strong support for innovative solutions and policies is necessary, along with the need to secure the necessary availability and affordability of inputs for agriculture and food products and avoid the increase in dependency on the import of inputs.
The EU agriculture and farming sectors are pivotal players to improve the resilience of EU food systems, and innovation is a crucial means to achieve this, hand in hand with food security. To remain resilient, we need innovative policies and the implementation of urgent measures, capable of addressing current and future challenges.
The AFCC is united in its call for sustainable, solution-oriented, and innovative policies that strengthen food systems’ resilience and autonomy in our current times of crisis. The AFCC is committed to addressing the current challenges faced in the EU and is encouraging cutting-edge solutions for a more sustainable, competitive, efficient, and secure agri-food system in Europe.