Digital Roundtable: Food chain resilience during COVID-19 and beyond

A recorded video panel discussion co-hosted by New Ag International and EBIC

Digital Roundtable: Food chain resilience during COVID-19 and beyond

Watch full roundtable discussion

On 14 May 2020, New Ag International and the European Biostimulants Industry Council (EBIC) co-hosted a Farm to Fork Europe digital roundtable discussion on food chain resilience during COVID-19 and beyond. Here you can watch the full discussion, and read a summary and insights from Naomi Brooker, Portfolio Director, New Ag International.

The Panel

MODERATOR: Kristen Sukalac, Secretariat, EBIC and Consulting Partner, Prospero & Partners
Luca Bonini, CEO, Italpollina
Pekka Pesonen, President, COPA-COGECA
Raluca Marian, General Delegate of the Permanent Delegation, European Union International Road Transport Union (IRU)
Will Surman, Director of Public Affairs and Communications, FoodDrinkEurope
Fabien Santini, Deputy Head of Unit, Governance of agri-food markets, DG AGRI

SummaryBy Naomi Brooker, Portfolio Director, New Ag InternationalOver 250 attendees from all over the world signed up, ranging from EU Parliament representatives, the EU Commission, food producers and agri input manufacturers.The session was moderated by Kristen Sukalac, Partner at Prospero & Partners, alongside input from Sarah J Cayrafourcq, Partner at Prospero & Partners. COVID-19 Lessons
Many of the questions raised connected to the specific solutions we are finding during COVID-19 and the (sometimes surprising) lessons we are learning from the crisis:

How will this crisis transform the food chain in the long-term and what are the strategic and operational implications for specific actors?

Are any of the panellists concerned that we may see serious food shortages at some point in the future?

There has been a lot of interest in the unforeseen impacts of just-in-time supply chains and what that is now doing to our food supply. Any thoughts on this?

There were a number of thoughts and visions shared around whether or not, looking to the future, the crisis would mean more biological products on the market and whether or not areas such as urban farming will increase:

Podcast Interview

Roundtable moderator Kristen Sukalac, Consulting Partner at Prospero & Partners, talks to New Ag International’s Chief Editor Luke Hutson about the the discussions on food security and the challenges to the food supply chain posed by COVID-19.

Do you think COVID-19 and related transport issues (goods and persons) will significantly boost urban farming?

How should the Green Deal strategies created before the COVID-19 crisis be best adopted to the necessary transformation to build up a more resilient EU farming and food chain sector?

Market Trends
There were questions linked to market trends and future drivers:

Will the crisis lead food chain players to favour more local biological/organic inputs?

Some articles have highlighted how COVID-19 has boosted the demand (and the price) for organic produce in France, UK, US etc. Studies in other sectors predict an increase in the predilection for local products, as well as increased awareness for sustainability. All these developments point towards an increased consciousness also around how essential farmers are, who have often been forgotten. Do you foresee this trend can be long lasting enough to shape the market or just a short-term effect of the crisis?

Of course, we cannot predict the future but it does give food for thought.Challenges for Farmers
Farmers form the core of our agriculture systems and as frontline workers our sincere gratitude go out to them during this time. Farmer needs and challenges were also addressed, with the following questions being raised:

What is the single most important change that farmers will need to make in their businesses to survive this crisis and potentially come out stronger?

Will the lack of access to cheap / secure labour during this crisis drive more automation in the food supply chain and what will the effect of this be on food prices?

This crisis has highlighted that those working on farms are not 'unskilled’ as they are sometimes classified – has the time come for society as a whole to appreciate farmers and the farming community just that little bit more?

Conclusion

I will leave you with a final thought/question posed: Do you think we are heading for food supply chain affordable for everyone? Or are we heading towards an increasing divide between cost and quality?

A lot of important discussion points were indeed raised and addressed. What is your view though on some of these questions?

Feel free to send me your thoughts as I would love to hear them.You can message me directly via naomi.brooker@informa.com.