Green Deal and low carbon farming

The European Union’s objective of carbon neutrality in 2050 is not realistic without general mobilization. Recalling that agriculture and forests are, along with the oceans, the only carbon sinks on our planet Earth, the Commission, in its “Farm to Fork” strategy, plans to involve farmers and foresters in carbon sequestration. The “EU Carbon Farming Initiative”, which can be translated as “The European Initiative for Low Carbon Agriculture” describes a series of good agronomic practices to capture carbon in the soil and plant roots. Maize is one of the crops, if not THE crop, which by virtue of its growing and harvesting conditions makes the greatest contribution to soil enrichment. The Commission’s initiative should therefore be encouraged with the rapid organisation of field studies to analyse the constraints faced by farmers in optimising carbon management on their farms and the benefits that they and society would derive from it. It goes without saying – and some local initiatives already exist – that the societal benefit brought to the community by farmers should be encouraged/ rewarded/ remunerated by carbon credits.
The translation of European ambitions within the framework of the CAP should allow agriculture to be considered as part of the solutions and to be valued as such! It is essential that the Commission and the co-legislators of the Union show innovation in the management of the Green Deal. What is true for carbon is also true for new selection techniques and the use of agricultural inputs.