00:01The European Commission has presented a revised fertilizer plan to avoid another wave of farmer
00:08protests across Europe, as the Middle East conflict has sent fertilizer prices soaring.
00:14EU officials are worried that high fertilizer prices could reduce crop yields, diminish food
00:20production and deepen resentment toward green policies, at a time when the far-right and
00:27populist political movements are gaining more support in rural areas. In the EU's draft
00:33fertilizer plan, farmers are set to benefit from emergency EU agriculture funds and advance
00:40payments. While there will be no new funds for farmers, the plan proposes short-term actions
00:46to improve access to affordable fertilizers, which implies a reshuffling of EU agriculture funds
00:53under the Common Agricultural Policy, or CAP. Christopher Hansen, European Commissioner
00:59for Agriculture, recently said that 200 million euros remains in the CAP's crisis reserve and said
01:07that they want to at least double this amount to support farmers. This comes under the condition
01:12that farmers switch to more sustainable practices, like cutting synthetic fertilizer use and embracing
01:19bio-based ones. The Commission's plan also looks at boosting domestic production of fertilizers.
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