European agriculture: "socio-economic decline; improvement in environmental indicators" (Farm Europe)

“The decline in traditional farms, arable farming and livestock farming in Europe is accelerating, leading to a further deterioration in socio-economic indicators, while most environmental indicators continue to improve,” states Farm Europe in an updated version of its ‘Radar on the Sustainability and Sovereignty of EU Food Systems’, published on 29 September 2026.

According to the think tank, the cause lies in the fact that, “trade surpluses, which have long characterised European agriculture, are falling rather than rising”. Indeed, the surplus relating to crops fell by 53.9 per cent over the period 2023-2025 compared with the 2020-2022 average, whilst the trade balance for animal products fell by 28.2 per cent and the deficit in animal feed widened by 11 per cent. “The EU exports less…