Last month, Simona Caselli, president of AREFLH,led a delegation to meet the Agriculture Directorate of the European Commission in Brussels.
The aim of the meeting was to convince representatives of the Commission to amend their commitment to integrated production, making it a commitment from the producer organisation for all its members, thereby enabling crop rotation within the same farm.
The position was supported by the ministries of agriculture of Spain, France and Italy, and the Commission reportedly responded positively in a letter from the director general of DG Agri, Jerzy Plewa.
Caselli welcomed the response, commenting: “This is an important improvement for European agriculture, that can enhance the role of producer organisations in the management of environmentally friendly techniques.'
AREFLH has also made repeated requests to the fruit and vegetable CMO (Common Market Organisation) to increase the withdrawal price and to organise coaching between structured producer organisations and less organised POs, under the funding of the operational programmes.
