2022 - Page 2 of 12 - Agricultural and Rural Convention

Passing of Michael Dower, a European Englishman

November 15, 2022 Hannes Lorenzen

Michael Dower has sadly passed away. Co-founder of the European AgriCultural Convention (EAC), which later became ARC2020, Michael stood staunchly for rural Europe, democracy, inclusion, and taking action now. His retirement marked the beginning of a fruitful career as a European convener, co-founding PREPARE and a number of other networks that punched well above their weight. Hannes Lorenzen remembers a European Englishman and friend. […]

Pesticide Regulation too Important to Delay – Civil Society Orgs

November 10, 2022 ARC

ARC2020, along with 28 other organisations, wrote and co-signed a letter on the unacceptable delays in introducing the EU’s pesticide regulation, called SUR (Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products). Below is the full text of the letter, which was sent to Ministers for Agriculture, Environment and Health, the President of the European Parliament, AGRI and ENVI coordinators, and members of the AGRI and ENVI Committees. […]

Winds of Change at COP27? Agri-climate news round

November 10, 2022 Ashley Parsons

The winds of winter are blowing into Europe, over in Egypt is a different wind gathering force? A wind of change? Until the 18th of November, COP27 is taking place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Last year’s COP in Glasgow has largely been viewed by the international community as underwhelming. So what’s going on in COP and in agri-climate news? Sometimes it’s important to follow the money… […]

Who’s Afraid of Nature? Restoration Law Under Pressure

November 7, 2022 Ashley Parsons

The Nature Restoration Law, tasked with creating legally binding targets and national plans for the restoration of different ecosystems for every Member State, is facing pushback. A look at how it is being challenged in Ireland and the Netherlands. […]

Letter From The Farm | Looking Beyond The Farm Gate

November 4, 2022 Mateusz Ciasnocha

We’re back on Ciasnocha Family Farm in Poland, where bad weather and the pressures of war in neighbouring Ukraine have made for a difficult season of haymaking. Right now many decisions are on hold as they wait for the new year and a new CAP. Meanwhile, Mateusz has had the privilege of fruitful harvests beyond the farm gate. Meeting other regenerative farmers and young entrepreneurs during a trip to the US has energised his advocacy work. […]

Rural Japan | Agroecology, Diversification and Digitalisation on Hashimoto Family Farm

November 1, 2022 Matteo Metta

While Japan continues to drive the high-tech smartification of agriculture, what is the role of digitalisation for a diversified, agroecological family farm in a rural part of Hyogo Prefecture? Matteo Metta writes this report from Hashimoto Farm in Ichijimachō […]

Cultivating The Future Together – ARC’s Rural Resilience Gathering in France

October 27, 2022 ARC

In Loire-Atlantique, in western France, ARC2020 and Nos Campagnes en Resilience hosted a rural gathering. The weekend created space for farmers, rural actors, regional and European organisations and policymakers to share, reflect and prepare action for the future of our countryside. […]

Un avenir à co-construire – Rencontre européenne ARC2020 en Loire-Atlantique

October 27, 2022 ARC

Début octobre, en Loire-Atlantique, l’équipe d’ARC2020 a organisé une rencontre européenne « Nos campagnes en résilience ». Le temps d’un week-end, nous avons créé ensemble un espace pour les paysans, les acteurs locaux, les organisations régionales et européennes et les décideurs politiques pour partager, réfléchir et préparer des actions pour l’avenir de nos campagnes.
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Rural Japan | Diversification and Digitalisation on a Dairy Family Farm

October 26, 2022 ARC

What does digitalisation mean from the perspectives of a diversified, dairy family farm in rural Japan? For more than three generations, the Sudo Family has adapted their farm to the challenges and opportunities of working and living in the southern tip of the Bōsō Peninsula of Japan, Chiba Prefecture. […]

Objectives are Not Enough | Pesticide Atlas 2022

October 24, 2022 ARC

Even though the EU’s pesticide legislation is the most sophisticated, it has failed to achieve a reduction in use. The EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy seeks to change that. Many questions remain. This article is an excerpt from the Pesticide Atlas 2022, published on October 18th, 2022 Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union, and others. […]

CAP’s Value, Public Canteens and Cutting Pesticide Use – EU Roundup

October 20, 2022 Ashley Parsons

CAP budget cuts? No, that’s just inflation. An EU Roundup on CAP financing, on pesticide’s – exposure to them, citizen action, facts and figures from a new Pesticide Atlas – and a vision and an action for the canteens of tomorrow. With Ashley Parsons
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CAP and E-Commerce: Are Quality Schemes Protected?

October 18, 2022 Melina A Campos

EU agri-food products protected by quality schemes can face counterfeiting and usurpations in third countries, resulting in significant economic losses for EU producers. The same can happen in the other direction, and with the expansion of e-commerce platforms, these market dynamics have found new avenues to occur. The reform post-2022 of the CAP’s Common Market Organisation has extended the protection of quality schemes’ intellectual property (IP) rights to e-commerce platforms. […]

Organic and Biodynamic Viticulture: Adapting the Vine in a Changing Climate

October 14, 2022 Adèle Pautrat

How are a new generation of French winegrowers responding to the extreme temperatures and droughts becoming more pronounced in recent years? This summer, Adèle Pautrat visited Sainte Marie des Crozes, an organic and biodynamic Domaine in the village of Douzens in southern France. […]

Main stories

Latin America | Agroecology and the Solidarity Economy

October 11, 2022 Les Levidow

An alternative to the dominant agri-food system approach, ‘EcoSol-agroecology’ denotes a convergence of solidarity economy and agroecology movements. In Latin America, agroecology has been linked to the solidarity economy since the 1990s. […]

Rural Realities | Feet on the Ground in the Battle for Land

October 10, 2022 ARC

Access to land was the topic of a panel discussion at our rural resilience gathering in north-west France last week. To add to the conversation, we present our findings from research on the ground, over the past two years of the “Nos Campagnes en Résilience” project. In the first of a series on hot topics around transition, we look at land, water and soil – all pivotal issues for socio-ecological transition. Analysis by “Nos Campagnes en Résilience” team. […]