Year: 2023

Rural Resilience

Accès au foncier : Comment Disposer de Terres Agricoles pour les Agricultures Plus Résilientes … Sans Aucun Texte Européen ? (Partie 2)

September 27, 2023 Marie-Lise Breure-Montagne

Comment est-ce que la France et l’Allemagne disposent de leviers pour adapter les politiques foncières aux réalités régionales et locales ? Après les politiques publiques régionales, nous examinerons le travail de Terre de Liens en France et de Regionalwert-AG en Allemagne, œuvrant pour que des terrains agricoles soient disponibles pour les nouveaux entrants et le renouvellement agricole dans chacun de ces deux grands pays d’Europe. […]

Main stories

Food Security, Food Sovereignty, and Collective Action During the War in Ukraine

September 25, 2023 Natalia Mamonova

The dramatic situation that the Ukranian people have been experiencing since February 2022 is well known. Less well reported is how agricultural production and farmers’ livelihoods have resisted and adapted since February 2022. This is a very important and timely interview related to power, food sovereignty, solidarity, and land. And for the latter, there are many considerations, from consolidation and access to grabbing and the future. Transcript of an interview with Natalia Mamonova. […]

Main stories

French CAP Strategic Plan : EU Sued over Approval of the Plan

September 25, 2023 ARC

Did the Commission breach its own laws by approving the French CAP Strategic Plan? According to Collectif Nourrir and ClientEarth, it did! After their internal request for an internal review of the approval of the plan fell short, the two organisations decided to take it to the next level, and bring the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union. So what are their arguments? And what results can be expected of the process? Let’s assess […]

Latest from EU Member States

Beer farmers – a Fair Deal for a Good Drink

September 20, 2023 Hannes Lorenzen

Belgium is famous for beer. However, that beer is a fast brew with almost no ingredients from Belgium. – and its brewed within six weeks. Traditional Belgian beer like Lambic and Geuze needs up to three years to mature. Yes, that is a long time, but there is a good reason for slowing down a bit. Meet the folks doing just that. […]

Latest from EU Member States

Letter From The Farm | Wandering In Quest Of Balance

September 15, 2023 Chiara Garini

We’re back on Chiara Garini’s farm at the foot of the Italian Alps, where the forest garden is in beautiful shape in its fifth mushroom season. Running the farm is a constant balancing act. It’s the satisfaction of producing food that keeps Chiara going. Don’t miss our policy explainer at the end of this letter, where we examine the policy constraints that prevent Chiara and other small-scale farmers from diversifying their activites. […]

Latest from Brussels

GMO-Free Europe – Still Possible?

September 13, 2023 Ashley Parsons

In Brussels, resistance is brewing against the European Commission’s bold plans for new GMO technologies (NGTs) in plant breeding, unveiled on July 5. The stage for this showdown was set at the 10th GMO-Free Europe Conference, a collaborative effort between the GMO-Free Network and the Green European Parliament group. Here, a diverse coalition of 200+ experts, practitioners, scientists, consumers, and policy-makers converged to dissect the Commission’s proposal from every angle. Ashley Parsons reports. […]

Main stories

Old Varieties and Short Production Circuits to Rebuild “Rural Solidarities”

September 7, 2023 Adèle Pautrat

In June 2023, we took advantage of the first fine summer days to visit a project run by the Réseau Meuse-Rhin-Moselle (RMRM), one of our close partners. Comprising around ten member associations, the RMRM aims at supporting and connecting initiatives that promote the preservation of old varieties and peasant breeding practices, in an area bounded by the three rivers that give it its name. […]

Main stories

Upland Farmers Face Harsh Realities in Post-Brexit England | Part 1

September 6, 2023 Marianne Landzettel

In July 2023, Marianne Landzettel travelled to Northumberland, England to meet and interview four farm families. The resulting story portrays the difficulties upland farmers face as they navigate compounding crises. The phasing out of EU direct payments and their replacement with a system based on ‘public money for public goods’, combine with high input costs, extreme weather events, and increased market competition to threaten farm futures. […]