Farmers' Council: New technologies are important for farmers around the world

Maira Dzelzkalēja-Burmistre, Deputy Chairwoman of the Association "Farmers' Council", participated in the North American and European Union Agricultural Conference in Copenhagen this week, where she represented the views of EU farmers and cooperatives in a panel discussion on the importance of innovation and technological development in modern agriculture.

Every two years, the North American and European Union Agricultural Conference brings together industry experts to discuss current issues. This year, the main topics for discussion include innovation and technology as key enablers of modern and sustainable agriculture, international trade, agricultural and economic development, market trends and marketing.

Maira Dzelzkalēja-Burmistre, Deputy Chairwoman of the Board of the Association “Farmers' Council”: “In a panel discussion on the importance of innovation and technological development in modern agriculture, I emphasized that that innovative solutions are tools that today's farmers need to cope with challenges such as: market fluctuations, climate change and public expectations of the industry. Technology enables farmers to be more economically successful, make data-based decisions, attract the new generation to agriculture, and facilitate daily work (e.g., animal feeding and milking robots, automatic steering, etc.).

What is needed to use modern technologies more actively? First, they must become more user-friendly! Farmers must be involved in their development, because only users will say what will work and what will not! Technologies must be economically beneficial, they must be able to pay for themselves. There must be available consultations and knowledge on how to use technologies, and, of course, legislation that allows these technologies to enter everyday life.

For example, new breeding methods (NBT) are currently a very topical issue in the European Union. These new methods would allow for faster development of varieties that are more resistant to diseases, using a process of directed mutagenesis. If we do not allow the use of these new methods in Europe, and do not allow the cultivation of GMOs, but leave our producers and breeding with the old tools, we will very quickly lose competitiveness, because we will not be able to adapt to global consumer and climate changes. In comparison, the new methods would allow for the development of new varieties almost half as fast.”

The panelists agreed that a very big challenge is to have a discussion based on scientific facts between the public, farmers and politicians. We, producers, need to be much more actively involved in the dialogue with the public, tell and show how we work, because otherwise we cannot expect understanding from the public and politicians.

PRESS RELEASE_New technologies are important for farmers around the world_20.09.2019.