ECAF applauds EU Environment Ministers call to protect Europe’s agrarian soil, and urges rapid uptake of Conservation Agriculture farming techniques

Brussels, 27 June 2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The European Conservation Agriculture Federation (ECAF) welcomes the call by EU member state environment ministers, meeting in Brussels on June 25th, to integrate soil protection measures into the Common Agricultural Policy and other relevant EU policies[1]. 

ECAF is a network of leading European academics, scientists and farmers, active in 14 European states. Its mission is to help develop and spread farming practices focused on maintaining the agrarian soil and its biodiversity in the context of sustainable agriculture. ECAF research over the past few years demonstrates beyond doubt that agrarian soil protection and enhancement is the single most important requirement for achieving that essential long-term goal.

All competent scientific authorities agree that intensive cultivation of the soil is the primary cause of four principal threats to agrarian soil recently identified by the European Commission[2]: soil erosion; soil compaction; the decline in organic matter and increase of CO2 emissions; and the decline in soil biodiversity.  The “best-practice” soil protection solution is therefore to switch to alternative tillage practices, collectively known as “Conservation Agriculture”, or “CA”.   CA cultivation methods are already applied to some 80 million hectares worldwide, and the soil benefits of  CA are recognised by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (http://www.fao.org/ag/magazine/0110sp-test.htm).

ECAF stresses that proven CA practices can be adopted by Europe’s farmers today. Spain and Portugal have already taken decisive steps in this direction, but Europe nevertheless lags behind North and South America in the uptake of CA methods. Strong EU and individual member-state policy support can help close this gap and ECAF stands ready to play its role in this effort.

For further information contact: Armando Martínez Vilela, Executive Director of ECAF at tel: + 34 610 753 267 or e-mail: conservation.agriculture@ecaf.org

Web site: www.ecaf.org

Attachment About ECAF and Conservation Agriculture

About ECAF

The European Conservation Agriculture Federation (ECAF) is a network of leading European academics, scientists and farmers.  Its mission is to help develop and spread farming practices focused on maintaining the agrarian soil and its biodiversity in the context of sustainable agriculture. ECAF is not involved in any commercial product, equipment and/ or trademark.  

ECAF brings together fourteen national associations which promote among Europe's farmers soil management "best practice" through conservation agriculture. With member associations in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, ECAF represents the interests of the majority of the European Union's cropped farmland. We invite you to visit our website: http://www.ecaf.org/

About Conservation Agriculture

Conservation Agriculture refers to soil management practices which minimise the disruption of the soil's structure, composition and natural biodiversity thereby also minimising erosion and degradation, and water contamination. Direct sowing and minimum cultivation systems are examples.  

Conservation agriculture has an increasingly prominent role to play in world agriculture as farms seek to develop Integrated Crop Management (ICM) systems that benefit the environment and enhance farm profitability. Direct sowing and minimum cultivation systems are already in widespread use in North and South America and other parts of the world. ECAF’s mission is to help Europe catch up.

President:

Luis García Torres 
Professor, Institute of Sustainable Agriculture, Spanish Council for Scientific Research, Cordoba, Spain

Vice-President:

Gottlieb Basch (Director of APOSOLO)
Professor of the Crop Science Department, University of Evora, Evora, Portugal

General Secretary-Treasurer:

Friedrich Tebrügge (President of GKB)
Academic Director, Institute for Land Technology, Justus-Liebig University, Giessen, Germany

Members:

Vic Jordan (Chief Executive, UK SMI)

Formerly Head, IACR Less Intensive Farming and Environment Programme; Research Fellow, University of Bristol  

Michele Pisante (Executive Secretary of AIGACoS)

Director, Extension and Experimental Station for Land and Irrigation Techniques, Vasto, Italy

Executive Director:

Armando Martínez-Vilela
conservation.agriculture@ecaf.org