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Who milks the cows when the farmers fall sick? There is only one answer to that question for most: the farmers, or their families. But it is a very different story in two European countries—and while right now, access to sick leave and holidays is determined by postcode, this could soon start to change. Here, ARC2020’s Natasha Foote digs into how these farm relief services work in practice and what the ingredients for success look like for other countries that want to set up similar services for their farmers. […] -
Four years ago, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent fertiliser prices soaring, exposing the true extent of just how reliant our food systems are on fossil fuels and the vulnerability of geopolitical chaos. When are we going to learn this lesson? Today, with conflict escalating in the Middle East, we are watching the same crisis unfold in real time. Op-ed by Lena Luig. […] -
Two years after a wave of farmer protests swept across Europe, the political response that dismantled key environmental measures in the EU’s most expensive policy at breakneck speed has left an indelible mark on decision-making in Brussels. In this investigation, we trace the closed-door discussions via exclusive interviews and insights that led to the rapid rewriting of EU farm policy at the height of the so-called farming ‘crisis’ and dig into the moment that broke new ground for EU policymaking. Natasha Foote reports. […] -
Seeds are rarely seen for what they truly are: the building blocks of agricultural systems that determine how our food is produced. This is no accident. It is the result of industry taking control, progressively turning seeds into just another input in service of a growth model built on privatisation, standardisation, and homogenisation—with seeds at the hub. Reintroducing this concept is crucial in building capacity for agroecological seed systems at regional levels. But how to challenge the dominant approach to seed practices, and bring alternative knowledge to a wider audience? First of a two-part series by Adèle Pautrat. […] -
What if, instead of going into debt to invest in their farms, farmers came together to pool equipment? What if, instead of struggling to run a small farm alone, there was extra help at hand? What if new entrants could draw on the experience of more established farmers in their local area? It may sound too good to be true, but this is the reality with France’s network of Agricultural Machinery Cooperatives (CUMA). Pauline Petit reports from Plume Chat Huant, a local CUMA cooperative in north-west France. […] -
The EU’s watchdog is ready for the fight over fairness in the EU’s future farming policy just as NGOs launch another round of legal scrutiny over the Commission’s conduct in the handling of the next Common Agricultural Policy. […] -
What if we acknowledged the labour embedded in every plate of food we eat, in every glass of wine? Forum Synergies trainee Lana Chaduneli spent a rich two weeks in mentorship with pioneering winemaker Charlotte Horton at Castello di Potentino in Tuscany in autumn 2025, where she learned how agriculture, culture and intellectual life need not be separated, but can instead be mutually enriching. By Lana Chaduneli. […]
