Medlemmerne af Folketingets Europaudvalg og deres stedfortrædere Bilag Journalnummer Kontor 1 400.C.2-0 EUK 18. januar 2005 Til underretning for Folketingets Europaudvalg vedlægges orientering fra Fødevareministeriet om den danske note om innovation under landdistriktsforordning.

2 Folketingets  Udvalg  for  Fødevarer,  Landbrug og Fiskeri   Den 18. januar 2005 Sagsnr.: 4255/dok89709 FVM 247 ./. I  forlængelse  af  min  redegørelse  til  Udvalget  forud  for  Rådsmøde  (landbrug  og fiskeri) 22.-23. november 2004 (pkt. 3a om forslaget om den nye landdistriktspolitik i   EU   2007-2013),   vedlægges   til   Udvalgets   orientering   den   danske   note   om innovation under landdistriktsforordningen, der er afleveret til Rådssekretariatet og Kommissionen.   Hans Chr. Schmidt Knud Bjerre  

3 Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Jr. no. 4255/85761   Copenhagen, January 2005 Danish note concerning innovation and development related to the proposal for a new rural development regulation 2007-2013. I. Background The conclusions of the Lisbon European Council set the target of making EU the most competitive knowledge-based economic area. In the coming years, the European food and agriculture sector will face increasing liberalisation of world trade, as well as globalisation. This will increase international pressure on the competitiveness of the sector unless EU common policies provide opportunities for improved competitiveness in the long run.   The  Commission  has  made  strengthening  European  research,  innovation  and development  a  major  objective  in  the  future  financial  framework  of  the  Union. However, to date few initiatives have been developed for implementing innovation into the agricultural and food sector. In  that  context  it  is  DK’s  opinion,  that  the  scope  for  a  new  Council  Regulation 2007-2013   on   rural   development,   should   be   more   targeted   at   innovation. Innovation is an important precondition for the ongoing development of the food- and agricultural sector in the future. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that the future regulation  includes  relevant  measures  to  support  the  development  of  products, production processes and markets that would not have been developed otherwise.   Innovation   implies   that   basic   research   findings   and   new   knowledge   can   be transformed  and  applied  by  the  companies  of  the  agricultural  and  food  sector within  a  relatively  short  time  scale.  Therefore,  it  is  important  to  stimulate  such transfer of knowledge between research institutions, test facilities and companies in the future. Rural development policy could be an important instrument to facilitate this knowledge transfer.   There  is  a  need  to  define  what  is  meant  by  innovation  in  this  context  and  what could be supported under a new article concerning innovation. This note focus on which activities are foreseen, which costs are eligible for support and which actors are  involved.  Finally  examples  of  innovative  projects  are  described  together  with three case stories exemplifying completed innovative projects. Annex I includes the Danish proposal for an amendment to the Rural Development Regulation.    II. Innovative activities Several  forces  drive  innovative  activities.  One  example  is  the  enterprises  use  of results   from   research   activities   to   develop   new   products   or   new  and   more sustainable  production  methods  etc.  Another  driving  force  is  the  price  of  the

4 product,  where  enterprises  obtain  premium  prices  by  increasing  value-added  or reduce the prices of their goods by reducing the production costs. The definition of innovation in the Commission Green Paper on Innovation is: The renewal and enlargement of the range of products and services and the associated markets The establishment of new methods of production, supply and distribution; The  introduction  of  changes  in  management,  work  organisation,  and  the working conditions and skills of the workforce The  above  principles  are  of  a  general  nature.  They  are  however  of  particular importance  for  improving  environmental,  consumer  health  and  animal  welfare aspects of agricultural production. Furthermore,  the  transfer  of  the  knowledge  gained  from  research  into  new equipment, production processes, modes of cooperation and products with a view to  improving  the  competitiveness  of  the  food  and  agricultural  sector  in  Europe forms a particular problem that needs to be addressed.   III. Promoting innovative activities. With the objective to improve living conditions in rural districts and in accordance with the Lisbon-strategy it is proposed that innovative activities should be eligible for  support  in  the  new  rural  development  regulation.  This  would  indeed  be  in accordance with the general objectives of the common agricultural policy. In this connection it is stressed that supporting innovation and development as an instrument  of  the  rural  development  regulation  should  not  include  funding  the costs of usual commercial activities. Exclusively the part of the costs related to the above mentioned principles that are not covered by normal commercial activities should be eligible for support. IV. Eligible operators Cooperation and partnership between several operators related to the sector would be  a  typical  feature  of  an  innovative  project.  The  following  operators  could  be involved: Farmers Processing enterprises Related enterprises Conditions should be set within the article on who is eligible for support, and who is  eligible  to  participate.  It’s  decisive  to  include  related  enterprises  involved  with activities other than food-processing, whenever such activities are of importance to the agricultural sector. Agricultural institutions and Research institutions could also be  involved  in  the  projects  in  so  far  as  they  are  contributing  to  the  innovative process.

5 V. Examples of innovative projects Examples of projects eligible for support: Reduction    of    smell    from    liquid    manure    or    from    piggeries/stables Further development of research findings to make the existing solutions more reliable   and   profitable   for   the   farmers   is   needed.   Focus   should   be   on application  orientated  development.  That  demands  technical,  biological  and agronomical knowledge from several operators to  be developed into practical and commercial applicable solutions.   Use  of  new  knowledge  of  importance  to  the  primary  sector  for  example  in relation  to  reduction  of  the  use  of  antibiotics  in  connection  with  mastitis Promoting   food   safety   via   documentation,   traceability   and   early   warning systems In  the  combat  of  BSE,  Salmonella  etc.,  there  is  a  need  to  develop  and  test different  instruments  to  reduce/eliminate  infection  sources,  which  could  be applied  by  farmers,  the  food  stuff  business  and  the  processing  industry. Hygiene Optimising    cleaning    and    disinfection    of    food    processing    equipment Nutrition Consumers  and  the  food  industry  have  increased  focus  on  high  quality  food with flavour and low content of fat and sugar. There is a need to develop new approaches  to  production  and  processing  combining  research  findings  with practical experiences.   VI. Illustrative case stories The three case stories are examples of completed innovative projects.   Project   title:   “Poultry   -   Detection,   Project   Guidance   and   Control   of   Camphylobacter Background Camphylobactor constitute a serious health risk for man and an economic burden for the food industry – especially for the producers of poultry. A retail chain (company), a poultry slaughterhouse and a research institution joined forces in a project to prevent camphylobactor in the future. They are determined to develop fast, efficient and safe methods to detect camphylobactor from stable to table in the poultry production. Objective   On the basis of real time PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), the project partners aimed  at  the  development  of  a  fast  and  cheaper  method,  which  could  detect camphylobactor  when  testing  the  poultry  and  their  faeces.  The  method  would reduce the time spend on analysis from 3-5 days to a couple of hours (real time). At the same time the price would be reduced considerably.

6 The method is oriented towards control of finished goods. The short time spend on  analysis  will  make  it  possible  to  dismiss  or  retain  polluted  goods  and  thereby prevent  them ending up in the shops. Results of the project The   equipment   for   analysis   has   been   launched   in   full   scale   in   the   poultry slaughterhouse. The testing of the method have shown good results. In the nearest future the slaughterhouse will therefore implement the new method to control the production. The last phase of the project is expected to be completed by the end of May 2005. In addition, it should be mentioned that the method has been published in several international and national periodicals. Project title: “Combating pesticides – thermal precision weeding”    Background Today, several robot technologies to weed between rows of plants exist. The use of robot  technology  is  meant  to  reduce  the  use  of  pesticides.  None  of  the  existing robots are able to weed between individual plants in a row.    Objective   To  overcome  the  limitations  of  existing  robots  a  Danish  enterprise  initiated  a project  to  develop,  build  and  test  a  weed  robot.  A  series  of  small  burners  are controlled  by  cameras,  which  makes  it  possible  to  weed  between  the  individual plants in a row (ex. beets). The robot is able to distinct between the plant and the weed due to the cameras. The distinction is based on three things; the difference in the shape of the form, the structure of the plant, and information on the expected distance between the plants.    Results of the project The  first  version  of  the  robot  is  developed  to  recognise  beets  and  is  now  being tested in fields with beets. The following step will be the development of software targeting many different types of crops. Especially carrot and onion growers would prosper  greatly  from  such  a  tool.  The  weed  robot  has  proven  to  be  a  good alternative   to   the   use   of   pesticides   and   the   market   prospects   are   global. Project title: ”Snack carrots”   Background   The lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet are some of the main reasons for the increased overweight and obese in the European population. Therefore, it is in the interest  of  society  to  promote  healthy  snacks  that  can  compete  with  snacks containing high levels of fat, salt or sugar.   Inspired by the US a Danish supplier of convenience products wanted to produce delicate and crispy snack carrots that could be eaten directly from the packaging. The current available sorts were not suitable for the purpose.    Objective  

7 A collaboration between the Danish Agricultural Council’s Project Service and the supplier   of   convenience   products   was   established.   The   project   explored   the cultivation  of  long,  thin  American  carrot  sorts  under  Danish  climate  conditions. Both organic and conventional cultivation methods were tested. Furthermore, new machinery for cleaning and rasping the carrots had to be developed. Result Today,  the  snack  carrots  are  available  everywhere  in  Danish  retail  shops.  The supplier  produce  400  tons/year  and  the  success  of  the  product  has  entailed  new jobs  in  the  rural  district.  The  machinery  was  developed  specifically  to  match  the shape of the carrots that had the sweetest taste.   Currently  the  producer  is  trying  to  obtain  a  HACCP  certification  to  extend  the market potential to neighbouring countries, who have shown great interest in the snack carrots. The  three  case  stories  described  below  are  examples  of  innovative  projects. Inclusion of a economic support mechanism to support projects of this kind within the rural development policy is essential for development and competitiveness of the agriculture- and food sector, rural development and employment.

8 ANNEX I Danish   Text   proposal   on   innovation   under   new   regulation   on   rural development (submitted to all member states at the working group meeting 23. September 2004) New recitals A new recital 3a is added to the proposal: “In the coming years, the European food and agriculture sector will face increasing liberalisation of world trade, as well as globalisation . This will increase international pressure on the competitiveness of the sector, unless EU common policies provide opportunities for improved competitiveness. This is in line with the Lisbon Strategy to make Europe the most competitive area in the world.”       A new recital no 25a is added to the proposal: “Increased  competitiveness  in  the  food  and  agriculture  sector  in  rural  areas  is closely  connected  to  seeing  production  in  the  context  of  new  global  market demands  and  consumer  priorities.  For  example,  of  major  importance  are  food safety, documentation of production processes (“traceability”), animal welfare, new product  development,  environment  and  working  environment.  In  order  to  meet these  challenges,  there  is  a  need  to  develop  innovative  solutions  which  can  be implemented  throughout  the  entire  production  chain.  Innovative  efforts  must develop  usable  instruments  for  the  food  and  agricultural  sector  which  can  be applied   within   a   relatively   short   time   scale.   Such   efforts   will   require   the development  of  partnerships  with  organisations  and  businesses  that  have  the necessary knowledge and potential to carry through an innovative process related to the food and agriculture sector.”   Amendment to Article no 4 In Art. 4 (a) “development” is added. New wording: ”improving the competitiveness of agriculture and forestry by means of support for development and restructuring”    Amendment to Article no 19 A new indent (ca) is added to Article no 19: “measures   undertaken   by   operators,   organisations   or   enterprises   aimed   at innovation and development related to the food and agriculture sector and which help to meet the objectives of the common agricultural policy.” A new Article no 31a A new Article no 31a is added to the proposal: “Subsection 3a

9 Conditions for measure aimed at development and innovation 1.   Support provided for in Article 19 (ca), shall be granted for projects which: a)   concern  the  development  of  high  quality  products  by  developing  new products, processes and technologies, or b)   concern  environmental  aspects,  food  safety,  animal  welfare  or  working environment in the food and agricultural sector, or c)   concern the development of documentation systems and traceability d)   are related to products covered by Annex I to the Treaty, excluding  fishery products, and e)   respect the relevant Community standards. 2.   Support  provided  for  in  Article  19  ca.  shall  not  be  granted  to  projects connected   with  research activities.”