REGISTER to the eventIn February 2025, the European Commission announced its latest vision update for the future of farming and food production in the EU.
On April 3rd, join Soil Capital’s CEO, Chuck de Liedekerke, as he breaks down how the EU aims to create a competitive, fair, and resilient food system - from leveraging nature for resilience to diversifying farmer revenues to standardizing sustainability reporting.
During this 30 min update + 15 min Q&A you’ll better understand:
• How this vision will redefine the AgFood sector in the next 5 years
• What the biggest opportunities and risks for AgFood corporates are
• How you can future-proof your sustainability and procurement strategy
About methodology and standards, do you have any preferred ones in the face of scandals?
The overarching methodology and standards are currently dictated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, which created the Land Sector Removal Guidance. Additionally, the Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) is doing work at the European Union level. These two elements will create the market, and consistency between them should be the primary goal.
What are the next steps in timing to turn the vision into regulation?
Unfortunately, we don’t know. We are not yet sufficiently involved in the Commission’s timeline. What we can say is that CRCF, which we see as probably the cornerstone of a payment program for farmers at the European Union level, will come into force in 2026.
How do you see the Commission progress with policies on reducing agricultural GHG emissions?
CSRD, CSDDD, and CRCF are three pieces of regulation that create a level playing field for the private sector to play a more substantial role. CSRD requires large businesses to start disclosing carbon emissions in their supply chains when this is material. CSDDD creates the momentum for these companies to improve the environmental impact of their supply chains. CRCF explains how to do that when it comes to farming.
Do you have a view on when this vision would be translated into concrete policies/guidelines? For budgeting purposes, it is crucial to understand how much of the financing is expected to come from private vs public funds.
One of the shortcomings of the vision is that it creates a new state of play for the future without providing many details about when this will happen. In terms of value shared today, that's not clear either. We do see that the CAP funding will decrease in the medium to long term. It's very clear that the European Union will allocate more of the budget elsewhere. Military spending will be a big one. It's likely that private sector contributions will be expected to increase on this side.
In regards to nature credits, is there any indication of a unique standard for the EU or will the baselines and indicators be delegated to member states?
No mention of that at the moment. The details around nature credits are quite light today.
What could be a standardized system for agri-sustainability, French HVE, Regenacteur label?
The majority of the effort has been focused on carbon CRCF. A number of eco-schemes have been implemented, but there's a need for consistency between these schemes and the CRCF. Additionally, there is a recognition that CAP needs to be simplified. This presents a good opportunity to establish standards in discussions with the commission, based on the vision.
Why is the calculation of the climate footprint per ton of harvested crop not more commonly applied?
The climate impact can be calculated per tonne of harvested crop or per hectare. While both are important and need to be considered, the per hectare metric is preferred as it is less variable than tons of crops. Tons of crops could favor intensification, notably through the use of high-emitting inputs, which could introduce noise into the calculation and impact environmental responsibility.
What is the approach to Mass Balance to avoid additional costs and CO2e emissions building segregated systems?
Our previous episode covered Traceability and Supply Shed, with an explanation of the Mass Balance approach. You can find it here.
Do you think that an European organization could support the farmers with their work so that they can go on holiday? Unfortunately, this category of workers is still working 365 days per year.
That's a great idea, and we believe there's plenty of room for innovation in that area. We agree completely. Could a European organization support this? It's certainly possible. Commissioner Hansen frequently emphasizes that we need to address the generational challenge. This can be achieved by improving farmer incomes, but also by enhancing their lifestyles. Farmers struggle to leave their farms; if we can find solutions that allow them to do so without jeopardizing their businesses, that would be a significant step forward.
Is there a valuation in the effectiveness of comparable crops that uses less inputs?
Soil Capital is conducting research to demonstrate that regenerative farming is both more resilient and profitable. We welcome collaboration with other research organizations to further validate and promote these findings.
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