Matteo Bartolini President of CEJA looks back on the Council’s achievements in 2014

Among the highlights of 2014 was the official launch of the CEJA-Massey Ferguson partnership. CEJA President, Matteo Bartolini (left) is pictured here with Richard Markwell, Massey Ferguson Vice-President and Managing Director Europe/Africa/Middle East at MF’s Vision of the Future event in Beauvais, France.

MF: Would you say that 2014 was a year of maintaining the momentum of CEJA’s work?

MB: 2014 has been a crucial year for CEJA. Following the achievements made in 2013 with the inclusion of a mandatory measure for young farmers in the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), it was essential that we ensured the implementation of this historic political agreement in an effective and concrete manner. In a similar vein, it was also important that we made use of the momentum that the CAP reform negotiations had given CEJA the previous year, and that we maintained an increasing amount of visibility and awareness of the age crisis in European farming. This was despite the retreat that agriculture, due to the end of CAP discussions, made from the central position it had been occupying in EU current affairs for the last two years. Progress has been  made on the policy front even beyond the remits of the CAP, including  putting the need to strengthen EU policy for young farmers at centre stage within the agricultural priorities of the Italian Presidency.

MF: What else was notable in 2014?

MB:  2014 witnessed the official launch of the CEJA-Massey Ferguson partnership. Among several joint events, we held a CEJA working group at the MF tractor plant in Beauvais, France. The event also included a tour of the tractor production facilities for a number of leading young farmers from across the EU. 2014 saw the end of an era as the previous European Commissioner for Agriculture, Dacian Cioloş, was replaced by Irishman Phil Hogan. In addition,  we saw an array of newly-elected MEPs take their seats on the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development in the European Parliament. As well as this, CEJA welcomed a new Secretary General a year ago to assist what was then the newly-elected Board, with me at the helm as the new President. Despite all these changes, CEJA accomplished a number of achievements over the last 12 months and I am proud to say that the issue of young farmers was still high on the political agenda right through to the end of 2014.

To read the full article please click here