Brussels, January 25 – Today, Nina Schindler, CEO of the European Association of Co-operative Banks (EACB), participated in the launch of the European Commission’s new Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Agriculture. The Dialogue's aim is to bring about a common vision for the future of the EU agriculture and food sector by summer 2024. The EACB is honoured to represent the finance sector during the upcoming plenary and technical meetings with 26 other delegates from farming groups, NGOs, and academia.
As preliminary considerations, EACB CEO Nina Schindler highlighted the crucial importance of access to finance for the evolvement process toward greener and more future-oriented solutions. The finance sector has a key role to play as an enabler of the transition to more sustainable agricultural practices and to the future of agriculture in general. Cooperative banks, in particular, are historically linked to agricultural enterprises and tied to rural areas. They are well positioned to accompany clients and support them in facing current and future challenges.
Nina Schindler underlined: “The financing of agriculture in general is currently surrounded by many barriers. Financing is a highly complex topic, and there are many aspects that should be addressed ranging from data availability, regulatory and supervisory aspects, and available financial instruments, to name only a few.”
The EACB is grateful for the opportunity to help shape the future of European agriculture and define a holistic approach toward farming and food production, also reflected in finance regulation. In this way, the finance sector will be able to fulfil its role as a key enabler of the transition to future-proof agrifood systems.