Sixty-eight Countries Commit to Agricultural Soil Protection
At the last Global Forum for Food and Agriculture, a total of 68 countries pledged to contribute to climate protection and biodiversity conservation by safeguarding agricultural soils.
According to the final communiqué, agricultural soils are critical in the production of sufficient nutritious and safe food, adaptation to and mitigation of climate change, and the halting and reversal of biodiversity loss.
Participants also pledged to promote measures to improve sustainable water management and natural water flows and retention in the agricultural landscape, including measures to minimise water quality degradation from agricultural activities.
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According to the final communiqué, agricultural soils are critical in the production of sufficient nutritious and safe food, adaptation to and mitigation of climate change, and the halting and reversal of biodiversity loss.
Participants also pledged to promote measures to improve sustainable water management and natural water flows and retention in the agricultural landscape, including measures to minimise water quality degradation from agricultural activities.
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EU: Micro-organisms in Plant Protection Products, New Rules
On February 10, 2022, Member States endorsed four legal acts that are expected to simplify the process of approval and authorization of biological plant protection products containing micro-organisms. The goal is to give farmers tools to help them avoid using chemical plant protection products. Farmers —including those producing organic crops— will have more alternatives for sustainable crop protection if the European Commission makes it easier to get biological plant protection products on the market.
Before micro-organisms are authorized to be used, it must be proven that they are safe and have no harmful effects on human or animal health, or other non-target organisms. Until now, the requirements for micro-organisms were based on principles that were very similar to those for chemical active substances. The new acts follow a different approach, which is based on the biology and ecology of each micro-organism and takes into account the most recent scientific evidence. In this way, the regulatory requirements become more ‘fit-for-purpose' and flexible. Furthermore, focusing just on relevant data means less animal testing, as fewer experiments on animals will be required.
According to the Commission, in 2019, the EU had almost 330,000 organic farmers, accounting for up to 20% of total farmland. One of the targets of the Farm to Fork Strategy concerns the increase of the total farmland under organic farming in EU, with at least 25% of the EU's agricultural land to be under organic farming by 2030.
The acts will be scrutinized by the European Parliament and the Council. If they do not object, they will be adopted and be applicable in Q4 2022.
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Before micro-organisms are authorized to be used, it must be proven that they are safe and have no harmful effects on human or animal health, or other non-target organisms. Until now, the requirements for micro-organisms were based on principles that were very similar to those for chemical active substances. The new acts follow a different approach, which is based on the biology and ecology of each micro-organism and takes into account the most recent scientific evidence. In this way, the regulatory requirements become more ‘fit-for-purpose' and flexible. Furthermore, focusing just on relevant data means less animal testing, as fewer experiments on animals will be required.
According to the Commission, in 2019, the EU had almost 330,000 organic farmers, accounting for up to 20% of total farmland. One of the targets of the Farm to Fork Strategy concerns the increase of the total farmland under organic farming in EU, with at least 25% of the EU's agricultural land to be under organic farming by 2030.
The acts will be scrutinized by the European Parliament and the Council. If they do not object, they will be adopted and be applicable in Q4 2022.
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US: Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is now accepting project applications for fiscal year 2022. The purpose of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities is to support farmers, ranchers and forest owners through climate solutions that increase resilience, expand market opportunities and strengthen rural America.
The new Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities will provide up to $1 billion for pilot projects that create market opportunities for commodities produced using climate-smart practices:
The new Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities will provide up to $1 billion for pilot projects that create market opportunities for commodities produced using climate-smart practices:
- Implement climate-smart production practices, activities and systems on working lands
- Measure/quantify, monitor and verify the carbon and greenhouse gas benefits associated with those practices
- Develop markets and promote the resulting climate-smart commodities