EU-US Collaboration Platform on Agriculture

Topics covered by the CPA

The CPA is a platform for dialogue between the administrations and open to all stakeholders in EU and US agriculture. It covers three main areas for collaboration.

1. Sustainability and agriculture

Areas of focus will include:

• ways to enhance or recognise sustainability in various agricultural production systems;
• sustaining vibrant rural communities;
• resource management;
• conserving the environment and fostering biodiversity;
• research and innovation;
• other related issues.

2. Climate and agriculture

Areas of focus will include:

• approaches to improving the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions;
• carbon sequestration;
• climate adaptation strategies;
• improving the climate resilience of agricultural production systems;
• research and innovation;
• other related issues.

3. Agri-food exchanges

Areas of focus will include:

• food system resilience;
• communication;
• production;
• food supply chains;
• other related issues.

Activities envisaged

Both sides:

• exchange information on policies and regulations, governance models, and other related issues;
• organise joint activities such as seminars, workshops, internal meetings, field visits and stakeholder reach outs;
• promote ties between the agricultural sectors of the US and the EU.

The CPA can engage in the following activities:

• visits and exchanges to agricultural sites and facilities involving producers, policymakers, regulators, academic institutions, communities, and businesses and civil society;
• cooperate on sustainable and climate-smart agriculture, consider varying approaches to common goals and promote mutual understanding;
• facilitate exchanges on programmes that support rural and underserved communities and their sustainable development, including through innovation and applied research;
• identify opportunities for collaboration to raise climate and environmental ambition in agriculture and land use through research and innovation.

Meeting between Director General Burtscher and Under Secretary Bonnie

Director General Burtscher met with Under Secretary Bonnie during the latter’s official visit to the European Commission. The visit aimed to explore the future direction of EU policy on promoting sustainable agriculture and the role the Common Agricultural Policy will play in this context.

Other topics discussed included the EU Deforestation Regulation and the sustainability of biofuel feedstocks. The meeting was held under the EU-US Collaboration Platform on Agriculture (CPA), which has served as a recognised forum for discussions between senior officials and stakeholders on common agricultural challenges since 2021.  

Empowering Rural Areas: The Role of Rural Investments in Accelerating Climate Resilience, 18 June 2024

While the majority of US and EU territory is rural, only 14-30 percent of the populations reside in these areas. On 18 June, the CPA held an essential exchange on evaluating new ways to connect the unconnected, strengthen rural areas, and ensure that policymakers keep rural areas in mind in ongoing green transition initiatives through rural proofing.  An important part of the discussion focused on decarbonisation and climate resilience at the rural level.

Crop Protection and Integrated Pest Management, 3 June 2024

The webinar was led by Luis Carazo, Acting Director International, Margaret Bateson, Acting Director Sustainability, and Dr. Prakash Hebbar, APHIS Acting Deputy Director Europe, Africa, and Middle East. Participants took part in two sessions on mitigating pest risks while maintaining productivity in a changing climate and another on the integrated pest management techniques. The sessions concluded on the way forward in the context of the CPA with the call for more intense transatlantic cooperation just as is now the case in scientific cooperation. All participants agreed that the challenges are very dynamic and require flexible responses with an emphasis on farmer training, research, and innovation.

EU-US Collaboration Platform on Agriculture 2024 Stakeholder Session, 8-9 April 2024

On 8-9 April 2024, Commission officials from the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) together with USDA organised a very successful second EU-US stakeholder event. It included a one-day conference on 8 April and a field trip on 9 April. The delegation was accompanied by around 20 EU stakeholders from various parts of the food system (farming, processing, knowledge transfer, NGO, etc.), and more than 25 registered on the US side.  The panel sessions were opened by senior officials from both administrations:

• Pierre Bascou, Deputy Director General, DG AGRI; 
• Catherine Geslain-Laneelle, Director for Strategy and Policy Analysis, DG AGRI; 
• Robert Bonnie, Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation, USDA; 
• Alexis Taylor, Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, USDA;
• Seth Meyer, Chief Economist, USDA 

The event consisted of six panels:

1. Recapturing and building on 2023 exchanges
2. Ensuring resilient food chains: global and regional perspectives
3. Developing new markets and measuring agricultural stability
4. The future of the livestock sector: pressures and opportunities 
5. The role of innovation: how do we ensure farmers have access to all tools necessary to transform our food system?
6. Improving transatlantic cooperation on agriculture: what’s the future role of the CPA?

Events 2022-23