1st European Congress of Young Farmers: an Austrian, Portuguese, Bulgarian and two Spanish farmers chosen as best in Europe.

An Austrian, Portuguese, Bulgarian and two Spanish were chosen as the best young farmers in Europe during the first Congress of Young Farmers organised by EPP Group MEPs Esther Herranz and Nuno Melo, together with the Confederation of Portuguese Farmers (CAP) and the Agrarian Association of Young Farmers (ASAJA, Spain) in the European Parliament in Brussels.

Andreas Gugumuc from Austria won the prize for Best European Farmer, José Carvalho from Portugal won the prize for the Most Innovative Project, while the Bulgarian Hristova Irena Petkova and the Spanish Ana María and Raquel Pérez Saenz shared the prize for the Most Sustainable Project.

Coming from all over Europe, almost 500 young people working in the agriculture sector participated in the Congress. The Chairman of the EPP Group, Joseph Daul, as well as George Haeusler, Head of Cabinet of European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dacian Cioloş, also attended the event.

The winners won a trip to the International Agricultural Fair in Paris, under the patronage of the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA), but MEPs Esther Herranz and Nuno Melo expect that the awards will also serve as a platform for the recognition of their work.

Esther Herranz MEP called the Congress a "big success, as it has given European legislators the opportunity to hear what young farmers have to say about their profession and their future. This is a way to recognise their work and to find solutions to improve their future, which is also our future", she concluded.