Commission bids to boost consumption of fruit and vegetables

Children and teenagers will be encouraged to eat more fruit and vegetables under a European Commission proposal next Wednesday (24 January).

The proposed reform of the fruit and vegetable sectors would increase EU funding of advertising of fruit and vegetables targeted at school-age children and adolescents from 50% to 60% of the total amount.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that everyone should eat at least 400g of fruit and vegetables every day. Of EU?countries, on average only Greece and Italy currently achieve this.

Organic fruit and vegetable farmers could also see their EU support increased to 60% of the production total.

Managing fruit and vegetable production, on farms and in processing plants, takes up an annual budget of €1.5 billion. Every year over-production leaves Europe with spare fresh and processed fruit and vegetables, from oranges and lemons to tomatoes and potatoes.

The EU encourages prod-ucers to donate this excess, known as ‘market with-drawals’, to schools, prisons and old peoples’ homes. This system would continue in the reformed sector.

But the Commission hopes to see a decline in market withdrawals by changing the way in which payments are handed out.

To bring the fruit and vegetable sector in line with other EU sectors under the reformed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), existing hand-outs would be replaced by a single payment to farmers.

The amount would be based on production over a previous reference period, but no longer tied to output, leaving farmers free to decrease production if they have no market. 20% of payments under the reform plans would have to be spent on protecting the environment.

Governments will be left free to choose the reference period used for the various fruits and vegetables, allow-ing for huge differences between crops.

Pedro Narro of the Asociación Agraria Jóvenes Agricultores said his group would welcome the proposal to ‘decouple’ production and payments, but warned that choosing reference periods would be a slow and complicated task across the member states.

Mediterranean countries including Spain produce more than half of the EU’s fruit and vegetables.

Children and teenagers will be encouraged to eat more fruit and vegetables under a European Commission proposal next Wednesday (24 January).