Exploring Agricultural Policy

"Exploring agricultural policy futures for small accession economies in an enlarged EU"

The Conference "Exploring agricultural policy futures for small accession economies in an enlarged EU" is addressed to policy makers within Europe responsible for the development and implementation of the National or the Common Agricultural Policy. The Conference will introduce the concept of foresight and its capabilities as a policy tool. More specifically it will be stressed that foresight:

1. Is an important tool for policy related consultation and decision making,
2. Can be applied to adoption of the aquis communautaire by accession countries,
3. Can be applied to reform the agricultural sector,
4. Requires a significant level of stake-holder involvement, and
5. Is directly supported by the Commission via the STRATA programme

The current situation in Cyprus and in most accession countries can be summarized more or less as follows:

Accession negotiations are underway and will be completed by the end of this year. The immediate or short-term consequence of compliance with the aquis communautaire is well understood on the basis of studies that have been conducted for that purpose. However there is:

1. No integrated plan as to how to deal with the structural changes that will occur as a result of compliance with the aquis communautaire,
2. No guiding vision as to what the future could be, and
3. No strategy as to how to arrive at such a future starting with the post compliance scenario.

Foresight as a 'vision building' process, explores and lays bare a range of alternatives based on the collaborative gathering of intelligence, leading to choices regarding a feasible preferred future. Once the 'choice' has been made:

1. The work of policy makers is facilitated in that they have an end-point for plotting developmental trajectories for the sector,
2. The challenge for stakeholders is to redefine themselves by their role in the feasible preferred future, knowing that this is a target or a vision shared by all.

In summary the foresight process applied to accession related vision building could be summarized as follows:

In the Conference main aspects of the Common Agricultural Policy will be reviewed. Social and economic dimensions of the compliance with the Acquis Communautaire in accession countries will be examined as well. It will link foresight with agricultural policy in the light of enlargement and the creation of the European Research Area, in order to assist accession countries reshape their policies.

The Conference is organized by the Agricultural Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment.

For more information on "Exploring agriculture policy futures for small accession economies in an enlarged EU" please contact:

Mr. Marinos Markou
Agricultural Research Institute

Note:
For the Conference Leaflet and Booking Form click here.