high level grouPS

The High Level Group on Biosphere Economy Innovation was launched in January 2018.

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The future CAP will have to undergo a complete paradigm shift. Priority must go to restoring entrepreneurship through a farmer-centred approach, and to nutrition to reduce the environmental footprint. This will allow to provide the population with healthy and affordable food, thus reducing budgetary pressures on health policies. Achieving this requires a more inclusive systemic policy approach, involving both the downstream and upstream sectors of value chains. 

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Such agricultural transition and improvement of incomes need evidence-based mitigation plans. These plans should identify trend affecting farmers’ earnings   through research exploring the positive impacts and external costs of the Farm to Fork and biodiversity strategies. Ensuring farmers' financial stability while transiting towards triple sustainability is fundamental. This can be done through a variety of reforms, such as prioritizing regenerative agriculture and accurately assessing its value and how to reward the beneficiaries, by accelerating digitalization and precision agriculture. 

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A Food System Innovation Investment Fund should be designed to empower rapid testing and up-scaling of innovative solutions, integrating technology and stimulating consumer acceptance. A Food System Observatory should measure the impact of food policies holistically, implementing True Cost Accounting of food and externalities to bridge the price gap between healthy and unhealthy diets. 

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In addition, Europe’s agricultural policy needs to take better account of global food demand, of equitable competition, and local conditions in other countries and of the geopolitical dimensions of food production.  

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 This HLG is chaired by Phil Hogan, former EU Commissioner for Agriculture.

Previous chair: José Silva Rodriguez, former director general for Agriculture in the Commission.