An overwhelming majority of Europeans regard agriculture and rural areas as important for the future. This was a key finding in Europeans, Agriculture and the Common Agricultural Policy – Full Report based on a survey requested by the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development and coordinated by Directorate-General for Communication of the European Commission. Other key findings include:

• An overall preference for the European level to manage agricultural issues, particularly environmental protection, securing food supply, and ensuring that agricultural products are of good quality, healthy and safe.
• A high level of public agreement that farmers should be encouraged to produce more organic products, contribute to the production of renewable energy, and take advantage of progress in biotechnology.
• About half of respondents think that agriculture has already made a major contribution in fighting climate change. Nonetheless, further action is still needed.

Download the document at http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/eb_special_en.htm#336.