Brief report

Facing the declining cultivation of grain legume crops in Europe, the Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations in the EU and General Confederation of Agricultural Co-operatives in the EU (COPA-COGECA) organised a workshop-debate on this sector, bringing together 80 delegates who represented stakeholders and decision makers in Brussels on 26 March 20082. The aim was to analyse the situation and consider the need and means of action.

Contacted by the organisers, AEP proposed to supply the debate with background information based on recent European scientific and technical or socio-economic analyses (such as those issued from Eurocrop, GL-Pro and GLIP) and this was summarised in three presentations of the first part which that:
- the outlets are not the factor limiting the grain legumes sector: grain legumes are largely under-used in the compound feed industry, even in the current context of raw material competitiveness, especially in Spain and Germany (GLIP findings), and there are also new demanding markets (as confirmed by the talk from the company Roquette in the second part of the meeting).
- legume crops have an overall positive impact on the environment, in particular a lower fossil energy consumption and lower GHG emissions (scientific research in agro-ecology and case studies in different European farming regions in GL-Pro);
- since 2000, the ceiling and recent decrease in EU grain legume production are explained partly by the changes in agricultural policies and also by climatic accidents in the spring in recent years; in the current uncertain context, however, the relative low attractiveness of grain legumes reflected by these decreasing production trends must be considered in the light of the recently reinforced political strategies that support some other arable crops (Eurocrop analysis).

The second part of the debate enabled the different stakeholders to take the floor. The DG for agriculture of the European Commission reminded delegates of the history of this sector and of the related EU policies. He also explained that its proposals resulting from the CAP health check up will be published on 20 May: the general objective is the decoupling of aid to farmers but the discussion is open when convincing arguments are provided for specific cases.
In the round table, the UK, Germany, France and Spain released messages which were remarkably unanimous across countries and the sectors of activities (producers and inter-professional bodies, industry and the plant breeders). FEFAC (the European Federation of Compound Feed Manufactures) reminded the audience of its need for sources of protein but remain neutral towards the different raw materials on the market. All the other actors highlighted the urgent need for a political incentive to boost the grain legumes sector to ensure supplies sufficient to meet the market demand and the EU agricultural challenges for sustainability. COPA-COGECA proposed an increase in the coupled aid for these crops and also the need to consider how a price can be put on the environmental benefits of grain legumes for farmers and industrialists.

Programme
Protein crops: what is at stake for the European Union?
COPA-COGECA workshop and debate
on Wednesday 26 March 2008, from 2.30 to 6.00 p.m.
at COPA-COGECA office, 61 rue de Trèves, 1040 Brussels

Protein crop production is in a state of freefall in the European Union which, in structural terms, is already extremely dependent on imports from third countries which are needed to supply the animal feed sector. In the context of worldwide raw material prices having picked up, any uncertainty resting on imports results in the supply the European markets being left extremely vulnerable and raises the question of the role of European production.
These crops unquestionably present a number of agronomic and environmental advantages which are a plus in the context of the fight against climate change. At a time when the European Union is discussing the future of its common agricultural policy, COPA and COGECA wish to go into greater detail on the problems and the stakes of these crops. Are they earmarked for abandonment in the EU? How can we manage the political decision to depend heavily on supplies from third countries?
How can the value of the environmental advantages of protein crops in the EU be brought out?
This conference is aimed at producers as well as their sector-based partners and political decision-makers.

2.30 – 2.40: Welcome and introduction to the agenda of the conference
Paul TEMPLE, Vice-President of the COPA-COGECA Working Party on Oilseeds and Protein Crops

2.40-4.00
FIRST SESSION: Economic and environmental analysis of the sector
This session, during which recent studies shall be evaluated, aims to issue a reminder about the agronomic and environmental advantages from a technical viewpoint.

2.40-3.00
What are the dynamics of the European grain legumes sector in the last 20 years and in 2015?
Summary from the Working Group on Grain Legumes from Eurocrop (SPP-4- 022757)
Anne SCHNEIDER, European Association for grain legume research (AEP)
View slides

3.00- 3.20
Protein crops: environmental assets?
Summary of the technical aspects following life cycle analyses (LCA) and expertise drawn from the European GL-Pro project in particular (QLK5-CT-2002-02418).
Henrik HAUGGAARD-NIELSEN, RISOE, Denmark
View slides

3.20-3.40
Use of protein crops in animal feed in the EU: room for manoeuvre? Technical-economic analyses and the impact on the environment
Summary of market analyses and life cycle analyses from the European GLIP project (Grain Legumes Integrated project FOOD-CT-2004-506223)
Olivier Lapierre and Frédéric PRESSENDA, CEREOPA - France
View slides

3.40 – 4.00 Questions
Coffee break – 15 mins

4.15-5.30
SECOND SESSION – Round table discussion: what are the stakes for the EU?
Chaired by: Klaus KLIEM – Vice-President of UFOP
This session opened up the floor to the sector’s key players in order to tailor possible activities towards production and use of protein crops in the EU by accounting for the need to incorporate a competitive dimension into agricultural holdings.

4.15-4.30:
DG AGRI’s position on the future of the sector.
Eric WILLEMS – Unit C1 Arable Crops
View slides

4.30-5.30
The sector’s point of view
- Producers and interprofessional bodies:
Pierre CUYPERS (UNIP-FR)
Salvador Potter (PGRO-UK)
Ignacio Fernández de Mesa (ASAJA-ES)
- Food ingredients industry: starch industry: Alain BERTOUX (ROQUETTE FRERES (FR)-AAF)
- Animal feed sector: Arnaud BOUXIN - FEFAC  View slides
- Seed breeders: Frank CURTIS (NICKERSON – UK – ESA) View slides

5.30-6.00
DEBATE and CONCLUSIONS
Paul TEMPLE.

Press release
Click here to upload the COPA-COGECA press release entitled 'Protein crops: kick starting production to meet demand'

Leaflet announcing the event
Printed announcement to upload: pdf in English
In other languages:
pdf in French
pdf in Germany
pdf in Spanish
pdf in Italy

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