Towards a sustainable agriculture label



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General public and farmers, however, do not declare the same priorities

The crises that have followed each other for years in the agricultural world and the mentalities that have evolved have brought to light a concept that has become important today: sustainable agriculture. According to a study commissioned by the CBC bank, it is important for nine out of ten Belgians and six out of ten say they know the concept. What is not obvious

Sustainability is not just respect for the environment, as you might think spontaneously. In reality, it is based on three pillars: the environment, of course, but also an economic pillar (limited price volatility, increased value added of products, management capacity of farmers, etc.) and a social pillar that consists in producing enough , by optimizing the well-being of producers, and maintaining a good image of agriculture for society.

For consumers, according to the study, the environmental pillar is considered the most important at 65% far ahead of the social (17%) and economic (15%) dimensions. On the other hand, while nine out of ten producers are concerned about the sustainability of their exploitation, 62% consider that the economic pillar is fundamental, and the environment is cited by 22%, then the social pillar by 12% of those surveyed.

Logic: the important thing for the farmer is the durability of his activity. But farmers are fully aware of the need to improve the overall sustainability of their operation and a majority are considering ways to do it … without always knowing how to do it concretely.

Building on the expertise of a French partner, CBC has developed an evaluation tool that includes seven criteria for each of the three pillars. It is preparing to make it available to its farmers customers, by also proposing resource persons to determine actions to implement. And the bank suggests, if the profession takes it, to launch a Sustainable Agriculture label allowing to take advantage of this tool which objectifies the efforts of the farmers. F.

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