Innovation and genetic modification should provide the bedrock to greening the Common Agricultural Policy, according to Lib Dem MEP for Scotland George Lyon.
But he warned that the European Commission has shown a worrying lack of vision towards CAP reform, which means a lot of confusion surrounds some of the big issues that still need to be addressed.
Speaking at the Oxford Farming Conference on Wednesday, 5 January, Mr Lyon said that sustainability lies at the heart of the CAP.
"But [sustainable agriculture] is not low input, low output, and it is not organic production. It is one that maintains and increases output by developing new techniques and technologies that dramatically reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, nitrogen fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides and water."
He said GM technology can provide some of the answers to developing a more sustainable agriculture. "European farmers are being left behind as GM becomes the norm around the rest of the world. The impasse in Europe must be broken if we are not to fall further behind," he warned.
The European Commission's proposals on Pillar 1 are similar to the European Parliament's, he said, apart from in some key areas.
"The green top-up is not focussed on sustainability and competitiveness. It talks about crop rotations and the Water Framework Directive. We think that's a hindrance, but need greater clarity," said Mr Lyon.
Most worrying, though, is the lack of vision shown by the commission in its current approach to CAP reform.
Mr Lyon, who undertook the role of rapporteur for the European Parliament's stand on CAP reform, said the current approach was different from that taken by previous commissioners, who had a clear view of what they wanted to achieve and set out to win the arguments.
"It appears to be all things to all men. There are big, chunky issues that remain unaddressed, and this means there is a lot of confusion."
Among the "big arguments" that remain to be addressed is liberalisation versus market regulation. "There is big pressure from southern countries to re-regulate the market. We've tried it before and it doesn't work."
The size of the budget and how it should be distributed has also been left unaddressed. "It's declining and this will continue," Mr Lyon predicted. How the CAP share should be distributed is one of the key questions still to be resolved.
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