Energy security starts on the farm: Europe urged to strengthen links between energy and food systems

Copa-Cogeca calls on the European Commission to overhaul its approach to energy security and link it more closely to food security. Agriculture and forestry must be explicitly recognised as the strategic pillars of Europe's energy mix, the organisation said.

The letter to European Commissioner Dan Jørgensen stresses that growing geopolitical instability and volatility in energy markets require a new, integrated approach. According to Copa-Cogeca, European resilience is not possible without a stable food supply, which is directly dependent on the availability of reliable energy on farms.

The organisation stresses that during emergencies, uninterrupted agricultural and food production becomes critical. Therefore, energy supply to farms must be a priority and food security must be an integral part of Europe's overall security.

Copa-Cogeca proposes concrete measures that could strengthen this link. These include reviewing restrictions on sustainable agricultural feedstock-based biofuels in the transport sector and removing incentives that encourage non-transparent practices in waste-based biofuels. It also proposes to prioritise the modernisation of rural electricity grids and to strengthen support for farmers and cooperatives to participate in local energy communities.

Not least – administrative barriers. Copa-Cogeca notes that lengthy permitting procedures, complex regulation and outdated infrastructure are holding back investment in biogas, biomethane, cogeneration and biofuel projects. It therefore proposes to simplify the authorisation procedure and reduce the administrative burden, especially for smaller farms.

According to the organisation, with a favourable policy environment, European farmers and cooperatives could become an important part of the energy transformation, reducing dependence on external energy sources, increasing energy access and strengthening Europe's strategic autonomy.

Agimanta Pabedinskienė, President of the AGRI, stresses that the separation of energy and agriculture policy is today becoming a dangerous mistake: "If we talk about European security, we must talk about food and energy as one. Farms cannot function without reliable energy, and without functioning farms there will be no food. It is therefore necessary to recognise agriculture as a strategic sector, not only in food but also in energy policy. We need to enable farmers to produce their own energy, to reduce external dependence and to strengthen the resilience of Europe as a whole," says the President of the EAA, Ms Pabedinskienė.

Discussions on the future of Europe's energy and food systems are gaining momentum, with calls for solutions that ensure not only a sustainable future, but also a secure and resilient one.