:: Farming Biodiversity

Copa-Cogeca, representing European farmers and European agri-cooperatives has taken the opportunity of the International Year of Biodiversity to showcase the commitment of the agricultural sector to preserve biodiversity, herein by presenting concrete examples of how the interests of farmers can be aligned with biodiversity goals. Real life examples from all over Europe provided by Copa-Cogeca’s member organisations have been assembled in this brochure. They show how agriculture creates biodiversity and reveal: a) that our cultural landscape and in particular many of the most valuable habitats rely on agriculture; b) that efficient and productive agricultural land use, ensuring a sufficient income for farmers, can be brought in line with nature conservation objectives; c) that farmers are prepared to adapt their farming methods to enhance biodiversity and that ecoinnovation can contribute to this; d) that farmers need financial as well as non-material support to better align their economic interests with biodiversity targets.