Salzburg Europe Summit: Secure and expand self-sufficiency in food
At the “Salzburg Europe Summit” politicians and experts discussed food and regional origin.
SALZBURG. There are around 9,300 agricultural and forestry businesses in the province of Salzburg, 44 percent of them as main occupations. At 59 percent, Salzburg is the federal state with the highest proportion of organic areas in Austria. The production value is 539 million euros, with a strong focus on the dairy and cattle sector (around 230 million euros). Salzburg’s farmers are also feeling the consequences of the corona pandemic, the war in Ukraine and climate change. Despite these challenges, they reliably finance Salzburg with regional groceries.
guard food
“Every food that can be produced in the region is of great importance and must be protected,” says Provincial Councilor Josef Schwaiger at the “Salzburg European Summit“. There, representatives of the European Union, the member countries and experts discussed current European issues.
That’s for the farmers
The primary goal of Salzburg’s agricultural policy is to maintain and expand self-sufficiency in food as best as possible. This requires planning security for farmers, says Minister of Agriculture Norbert Totschnig. “So that the supply of food is also secured in the future, the federal government is still supporting Salzburg today with the 5.7 million euro supply security package in order to cushion the sharply increased costs of inflation. In addition, there is an electricity cost subsidy and a reimbursement of the CO₂ price,” said the minister.
Cushion losses and additional costs
The country has also responded with support programs. “With 4.3 million euros in direct payments to around 5,600 cattle, sheep and goat farming companies and associations as well as associations, we have cushioned losses and additional costs. As part of the state invest program, we have invested around 19.6 million euros in the Implementation of structural measures to improve internal processes,” says Schwaiger.
Is “regional” the new “organic”?
The topic was discussed with Irene Neumann-Hartberger, member of the National Council and chairwoman of the working group of Austrian women farmers, Oliver Sitar, Directorate-General for Agriculture in the European Commission and Simone Schmiedtbauer, farmer and member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development: Is “regional” that new “organic”?
Origin decisive for sales
According to a survey by the AMA, “regional” means “coming from nearby” for 39 percent, “short transport routes” for 20 percent and “straight from the farmer” for 10 percent. According to Totschnig, regional sales are decisive for 62 percent of consumers. He is therefore committed to an EU-wide labeling of origin. According to Simone Schmiedtbauer, defining regionality makes no sense: “The initial situations in the EU member states are too different.”
Youth are engaged in animal welfare
Students from agricultural schools were also present at the discussion. She is particularly interested in the subject of animal welfare, animal protection and species-appropriate husbandry. “These are topics that belong to today’s generation,” says Katharina Rohrmoser from HBLA Ursprung. Provincial Councilor Josef Schwaiger says: “We will be consistent in controlling animal welfare, because a few cases can particularly worsen the picture of reality. Funds from the EU and the state are made available to farmers to improve the husbandry conditions in the stock.” According to Federal Minister Totschnig, the AMA organic seal is the best indicator of animal welfare in Austria.
“You don’t know how high the requirements are”
The students took a lot away from the discussion: “We need a broader education among the population about what we farmers do and how high the demands are on us,” says Johanna Moser from the HBLA Ursprung.
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