Beginning the agro-ecological transition to preserve soil and agro-biodiversity, preserving and managing water resources more efficiently as well as supporting food security and sovereignty are key proposals presented in the report on 'Agriculture and food security in the context of climate change in the Mediterranean' presented by EPP-CoR member Agnès Rampal, during a virtual commission meeting of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM).
Agnès Rampal, Deputy Mayor of Nice (France) and President of the Euro Mediterranean Commission of the Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur region said that the report proposes concrete solutions to ensure food security for 22 neighbouring countries and 550 million inhabitants of the Mediterranean region. She referred to the terrible impact of climate change in the Mediterranean especially on small and medium-sized farms. "The purpose of the report is to initiate a renewal of the agricultural sector, which is sustainable, which offers a decent income to farmers, which will give due importance to the health of populations through a Mediterranean diet, recognised worldwide in terms of benefits, and which will preserve the rich biodiversity of the Mediterranean in line with the United Nations 2030 agenda and the Paris Climate Agreements (2015)."
Speaking on the need to ensure food security, Rampal recalled how the crisis linked to the pandemic has shown that agriculture and food are vital sectors. Efforts by people to build stocks at home confirm that agriculture and food production have an intrinsic role in our daily lives. She stressed the importance of SMEs in this sector, and called for a macro-regional strategy for the Mediterranean on food security and the need for concrete actions.
The report outlined key challenges that need to be addressed including lack of long-term governance, deterioration of farming soil, droughts and water shortages as well as food waste. In response the report calls to step up food storage policies, to create a database that promotes short distribution chains as well as to make farmers less vulnerable by providing more support for climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. Furthermore, the report proposes to draw up a charter for Euro-Mediterranean food sovereignty with a common policy declaration and targets for signatory countries and LRAs to adopt a long-term integrated approach to coordinated management of agricultural natural resources (water, soil, agro-biodiversity) and Mediterranean food sovereignty.
Rampal's report emphasises the role of local and regional authorities (LRAs) in investing in human capital and driving regional cooperation so to help reducing the food vulnerability of local communities and ensure that the various forms of Mediterranean farming are better able to cope with the upheaval caused by climate change.
The report can be accessed here.