Nearly half of Europeans think that securing a stable supply of food in the EU at all times should be a main objective of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), according to the latest Eurobarometer on agriculture and the CAP published recently.
The Eurobarometer highlights the public perception that climate change is now affecting agricultural activity more and more. Over 90% of Europeans agree that extreme weather events, such as increasingly severe floods and droughts, can have an impact on food supply and food security in the EU. While a large proportion of respondents (58%) say that agriculture has already made a major contribution in fighting climate change, and that the CAP helps with protecting the environment and tackle climate change (65%), two-thirds (67%,) consider that EU farmers could still do more by changing the way they work, even if this means EU agriculture being less competitive globally. Six in ten Europeans (60%) also say that they are prepared to pay more for agricultural products that are produced in a way that limits their carbon footprint.
More than eight in ten Europeans (87%) cite a short supply chain as an important factor in their decision to buy food products. Seven in ten Europeans (70%) consider that the EU, through the CAP, is fulfilling its role in ensuring a sustainable way to produce food.
More than nine in ten respondents consider that in the EU, agriculture and rural areas are important for our future. As the CAP is celebrating its 60th anniversary, large majorities of respondents (70%) in all 27 Member States say they have heard of the support that the EU gives farmers through this longstanding policy. A majority agree that the CAP contributes to encouraging young people to enter the agricultural sector, and to increasing the number of jobs in the agriculture and food sectors. Respondents also believe that it plays a role in reducing disparities in the development of different regions and territories of the EU. Overall, 76% say that the CAP benefits all European citizens and not only farmers. These are among the main findings of the current Eurobarometer on Europeans, Agriculture and the CAP, the 7th one since 2007.
The survey was conducted in the 27 EU Member States between 21 February and 21 March 2022, during the first weeks of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.