ONLINE - Grown in the EU: What farmers need to make diversification work

Join us at the European Parliament to find out what farmers really need to make agricultural and protein diversification thrive in the EU! Grown in the EU: What Farmers Need to Make Diversification Work As Europe debates the future of agriculture, what can we learn from farmers already leading the way? Join us for a cross-party discussion bringing farmers’ voices to the centre of the conversation on agricultural and protein diversification. At this event, the Coalition for an EU Action Plan for Plant-Based Foods will present its project for which over 30 farmers from across the European Union were interviewed, exploring the challenges, opportunities, and practical solutions encountered when diversifying production, particularly with plant and protein crops. Farmers who were interviewed will be present at the event, where they will lead the discussion on what support is needed to make diversification work, what the barriers in markets and value chains are, and what policy tools are required to help farmers build resilient, competitive and sustainable farming systems across Europe. 24 June 2026 | 17:00–19:30 Please register. The link to follow the event online will be sent via email a few days beforehand. If you would like to participate in person, please register via the dedicated Eventbrite page: https://grown-in-the-eu.eventbrite.com/ This event is co-hosted by MEPs Paulo do Nascimento Cabral (EPP), Barry Cowen (Renew), Thomas Waitz (Greens/EFA), Camilla Laureti (S&D) and Per Clausen (The Left), and co-organised by the Coalition for an EU Action Plan for Plant-Based Foods. AGENDA: Opening (17:00–17:20) Opening with a keynote speech by Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen Presentation of the diversification interview project (17:20–17:30) Panel discussion with 5 farmers from across the EU (17:30–18:45) Closing with an intervention by the upcoming Irish presidency of the Council (18:45-19:00) Context of the event Negotiations on the next Common Agricultural Policy and Common Market Organisation Regulation have started, and the European Commission is busy preparing a comprehensive plan on protein. In this context, protein diversification and diversification of agricultural production in general are among the horizontal objectives widely agreed on across EU institutions and political families. Be it for food security, economic resilience, competitiveness or soil and water management reasons, many stakeholders recognise that Europe needs to diversify its production and develop strong value chains for protein crops in particular. But what about the farmers in this discussion? Many inspiring farms across the EU have in fact already embarked on their own diversification journeys. This event aims to provide a platform for honest feedback and a real discussion with these pioneer farmers. What are the issues that farmers diversifying their production encounter, and what kind of support is needed to facilitate the process? What are the current limitations of the market and bottlenecks in value chains? What concrete policy tools need to be developed to best support farmers in this process?