Why Europe Needs more Productive Agriculture

Why Europe Needs more ProductiveWhy Europe Needs more Productive Agriculture PR Newswire BRUSSELS, November 4, 2013 New academic study shows that productive agriculture brings significant benefits for food security, resource efficiency, economic stability, improved biodiversity, climate-change mitigation Productive agriculture delivers important benefits to Europe and the world - from increased food security and more efficient land use to climate change mitigation, biodiversity protection and economic and social stability - according to a landmark academic study released today. The new report, "The social, economic and environmental value of agricultural productivity in the European Union", has been published by the Humboldt Forum for Food and Agriculture, an international non-profit think tank based in Berlin. The study assesses data on the economic, social and environmental effects of productive agriculture (which uses modern technologies such as agricultural machinery, new seed varieties, organic and/or mineral fertilizers, and plant protection products and solutions) in the EU. According to the findings, each percentage point increase in agricultural productivity in the EU: • feeds more than 10 million humans per year • increases the annual social welfare generated in European agriculture by approximately 500 million • contributes EUR 500 to the annual income of an average EU farmer • reduces our net virtual land imports by about 1.