- Innovation
The Resilience Gap: Innovating for European Agriculture
New research commissioned by Bayer finds that the EU and UK risk falling further behind major agricultural competitors as climate, geopolitical and productivity pressures increase. The research combines an economic analysis by Oxford Economics, representative consumer polling of more than 8,000 people across eight European markets, and in-depth interviews with around 90 farmers.
EU GDP contribution of crop agriculture
is the estimated average annual climate-related losses, equivalent to 6.4% of EU crop production
agree that food security is a matter of national security
European agriculture has important strengths: its productive farmland, highly skilled farmers, and strong scientific and industrial capabilities make it a major economic and strategic asset.
Realizing this potential is increasingly important as farmers face mounting climate, cost and competitive pressures. Supporting innovation and productivity can help European agriculture build on its strengths and remain resilient for the future.
Consumers also recognize farmers’ challenges and connect resilient farming, food security, and affordability.
Europe has the farmers, the scientific expertise and the industrial capabilities to strengthen agricultural resilience. The opportunity now is to enable innovation to reach the field in time to make a difference.
5 Ways to strengthen resilience and seize opportunities
"Right now we’re a bit suffocated because everything takes so much effort to do… costs are too high and we’re not paid a decent profit."
“There's a permanent rise in costs and selling prices that are stuck, or even falling... It used to be one bad year every three or four years. Now it's more like one good year every five or six.”
“We've had almost eight weeks without rain… climate change is clearly happening, but you don't know which direction it's going.”
"This year was the fourth heatwave. You notice fruit-set fails in tomatoes and peppers, no new fruit forms."
"The list of crop protection products gets narrower every year, and sometimes we have no products at all that can deal with a pest or weed problem. Because there are fewer of them, we can't rotate, and pests become resistant to the active substances... I'd say our costs have gone up by around 30 to 40 percent."
"With CRISPR-Cas, within a species, if you find resistance or drought tolerance in a wild plant – why shouldn't we use that."
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KEY FINDINGS FROM THE REPORTS:
- Crop agriculture contributes €246 billion to EU GDP, and every €1 billion of crop agriculture output further supports €2 billion to €3 billion of downstream production in other sectors.
- Crop output growth in Europe has significantly lagged global peers between 2011 and 2023, averaging just 0.1% a year. In the UK, growth was even lower, at 0.0%. This compares with 1% in the US, a global average of 2%, and between 2 - 3% in China, Canada and India. Brazil was among the fastest-growing markets, with annual growth averaging 3.3% over the period.
- Climate-related risks already cause estimated average annual losses of €17.4 billion, equivalent to 6.4% of EU crop production.
- By 2050, climate-related losses are projected to rise to between €24.8 billion and €28.9 billion.
- 84% of European consumers say farmers should have access to the latest technology and innovation, so that innovation moves faster, farmers get better harvests and food prices come down.
- 77% of European consumers say cutting bureaucracy and red tape would help make sure Europe can produce enough food.
- 63% of European consumers say they would be more likely to vote for a political party that backed farmers using new science and technology.
Source: Economic analysis by Oxford Economics, representative consumer research and in-depth interviews with farmers across eight European markets.
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