Clear mandate for common agricultural research, says Pröll
Joseph Pröll, Austria's Agriculture Minister and President of the EU Agriculture Council, said there was a clear mandate for common EU agricultural research in the EU, following an informal meeting of EU agriculture ministers in Krems on 28-30 May. 'We have tackled issues important to the future at this informal meeting,' he said. 'One result of our talks was the realisation that there is insufficient coordination and cooperation between Member States in research and development. We need a common European research vision in the agriculture sector,' he said. The series of meetings in Krems focused on the effects of the current World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks in Hong Kong, set during the Doha conference in 2001. '[W]e are giving strong backing to Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel,' said Mr Pröll earlier in the week, adding that, 'Innovation is key to generating income.' 'The WTO negotiations, which will come to a head again next week, will clearly pose challenges we must overcome. Politicians can give support by providing appropriate conditions, but it is above all the farmers themselves who will have to act,' said Mr Pröll. In order to deliver these 'appropriate conditions', the ministers felt more research would be essential to equip farmers for the additional pressure that lies ahead. The Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) currently devotes the Food Quality and Safety thematic area to research 'from farm to fork'. Under FP7, this will be expanded to 'Food, agriculture and biotechnology', one of nine thematic areas. The informal meeting gave ministers the opportunity to speak freely, and they identified four key areas with 'deficits': - Research and Development. Ministers felt that research and development needed more action. The Standing Committee on Agricultural Research will be given a mandate to begin drawing-up a common research strategy in June. - Education. Ministers proposed a common strategy to improve coordination between countries and between training institutions. Ministers also wanted to increase and ease agricultural exchanges between Member States. - Advisory Services. Ministers proposed a cross-border platform for consultancy. - Innovation. Ministers proposed a monitoring and benchmarking system to boost innovation for rural development. Highlighting these four key areas will give European farmers more opportunities to compete in the future. 'We plan to coordinate our work more closely in future in the field of research, consultancy and enhancing innovation, and we have taken important steps towards this goal,' he said.
Countries
Austria