Agriculture ministers from the EU held an informal meeting in Belgium this week to develop the autonomy of the EU in proteins for human and animal feed.

The meeting, organised by the Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU but not an official meeting of the council, identified protein production as a policy area that the EU is "determined to achieve more strategic autonomy in".

The meeting was held on the back of farmer protests in several EU member state, and geopolitical and economic challenges, such as the war in Ukraine, which, the Belgian presidency said, makes food sovereignty "even more important".

The ministers agreed that this autonomy cannot be achieved by member states individually, and that it should be coordinated at EU level.

The minister also said that EU farmers can benefit from the production of plant proteins as a source of revenue.

The participants in the meeting reached a set of conclusions, and it is envisaged that these conclusions will lead to further steps.

The conclusions include:

Ensuring strategic autonomy in the production of proteins is "essential" and measures will need to be taken to increase the EU's independence in this sector;
It will be necessary to diversify the sources of the proteins, to promote production in Europe and to derive more value from the by-products;
Whether engaged in the production of vegetable or animal protein, it will be "crucial" to ensure that the protein-producing sectors in Europe are able to benefit from commercially-viable outlets for their products;
Research and innovation will play a key role in the development of the sector;
Coupled aid will form an incentive that will help develop the cultivation of vegetable proteins in relation to the cultivation of cereals.

As part of the meeting, ministers were also given a tour of local areas in Belgium, which included a visit to a beef farm with a Belgian Blue herd.

Commenting on meeting, Belgian agriculture minister David Clarinval said: "It is important to guarantee a form of agriculture that is competitive and sustainable in the full sense of the term, meaning productive, remunerative for farmers and whose watchword is nutritional quality, while preserving the environment.

"Recent geopolitical conflicts have also demonstrated the importance of maintaining a high level of food security. To achieve this, we need to encourage innovation in the face of the major challenges facing agriculture," Clarinval added.