This Wednesday, the 'Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture' presented and handed over its final - unanimously adopted - report and recommendations to European Commission President, Ursula Von der Leyen. The Strategic Dialogue brought together 29 major stakeholders from the European agri-food sector, including farmers’ lobbies, as well as civil society, rural communities and academia to reach a common understanding and vision for the future of the EU's farming and food systems.

Announced by President von der Leyen in her State of the Union address in September 2023, the Strategic Dialogue sought to address tensions between environmental regulations and the agricultural sector. From January to August 2024, the diverse group of actors from Fertilizers Europe, Green Peace, CEJA European Council of Young Farmers, LEADER Association for Rural Development to COPA Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations and Birdwatch Europe, met in seven plenary meetings and different working groups to discuss the four fundamental questions of: 

• How can we give our farmers, and the rural communities they live in, a better perspective, including a fair standard of living
• How can we support agriculture within the boundaries of our planet and its ecosystem?
• How can we make better use of the immense opportunities offered by knowledge and technological innovation?
• How can we promote a bright and thriving future for Europe's food system in a competitive world?

In addition, the final conclusions received EU-wide input from different actors along the food supply chain. In the final report, dialogue participants conclude that the “triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution”, requires new approaches and measures, beyond the current business as usual. What is more, stakeholders urge the European Commission to take “ambitious, and feasible action at all levels to guarantee that the sector operates within planetary boundaries and contributes to the protection and restoration of the climate, ecosystems, and natural resources, including water, soil, air, biodiversity, and landscapes”. 

“The unanimous conclusion by the ‘strategic dialogue on the future of EU Agriculture’, is a sign that finding solutions together is possible and that an agriculture and food sector that works for people and nature is attainable, if we put our heads and minds together. 
Local governments have a key role to play in implementing the ‘new dynamic’ regulations, which must enable local public procurement processes that reward sustainable, local producers for regional food resilience and community investment. 
We look to the European Commission to work with local, regional and national governments so that we can create an agri-food ecosystem in which health, food security and fair incomes go hand in hand.“ - Peter Defranceschi, Head of the ICLEI Brussels Office & the Global CityFood Coordinator

The final report entitled “A shared prospect for farming and food in Europe”, is to guide the European Commission's “Vision for Agriculture and Food”, to be delivered in the first 100 days of the new mandate. ICLEI Europe and its partner organisations put forward their own concrete recommendations to the European Commission for minimum standards in sustainable food procurement (BuyBetterFood Manifesto) and policy recommendations on enabling collaborative agrifood systems better linking cities with farmers. 

Read the full report here.