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Letter From The Farm | Neighbours, Not Numbers: How Local Feeds Us All
In a farming system that demands more than it gives, Marie Halicki finds that relationships, not yields, nourish resilience, sovereignty, and sanity. […]
Month: July 2025
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Rural Europe Takes Action – Food System Lessons from Marburg
What happened when we set out to identify and nurture the ingredients of local food system transformation in Marburg, Germany? This was the aim of the Rural Europe Takes Action – Germany project (2023-2025), through which ARC2020 partnered with kollektiv von MORGEN and AbL Hessen – supported by the Robert Bosch Stiftung – to connect the dots from the local to the European level. […]
Latest from Brussels
A Not So Common Agricultural Policy and A Mega MF(F)ing Fund – What’s Cooking in the New CAP?
We promised a budgetary bombshell, and that’s exactly what dropped in Brussels last week. With a (not so) ‘Common’ Agricultural Policy, the Commission has juddered into a new direction — and if you’re wondering what in the MF(F)-ing hell just happened, you’re certainly not the only one. Here Natasha Foote unpacks some first takeaways and why it has so far gone down like a sack of manure. […]
Latest from the ARC network
Op-Ed | “Non-Productive Trees” – Still A Bizarre Concept
With Europe’s forests under more pressure than ever to remove carbon and provide all manner of ecosystem services, is there such a thing as a non-productive tree? And what exactly is a high diversity landscape feature? In the view of the European Agroforestry Federation, the European Commission should use more precise terminology, notably in the Nature Restoration Regulation. Op-ed by Gerry Lawson. […]
Latest from Brussels
LEAK: CAP Crumbles as EU Eyes Radical Post-2027 Overhaul
The European Commission is preparing to tear up the architecture of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), in what could set the stage for a radical overhaul of the EU’s farming subsidy programme, according to leaked drafts. Natasha Foote reports from Brussels. […]
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The Rise of a New Grain Alliance – Germany’s Free Bakers Sow the Seeds of Change
A new idea is brewing in Germany, with the first seeds sown of a new alliance along the food value chain for cereals and legumes. ARC2020’s President Hannes Lorenzen reports on how farmers, bakers, seed savers, researchers, and grain breeders are coming together with a shared vision […]
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The EU’s New Big Budget Bombshell – Here’s What We Know So Far
Buckle up – July is shaping up to be a blockbuster month for the EU agrifood sector. In a double-whammy move, the European Commission is set to unveil not one but two major proposals on 16 July that will shape the sector’s future: the blueprint for the post-2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the next €1.2 trillion EU budget. Natasha Foote talks you through what’s brewing in Brussels and the panic in the corridors of power. […]
Latest from Brussels
Op-Ed | From Declaration to Action – Rethinking Rural Power in EU Policymaking
Rural voices still seem to go unheard in EU policymaking. The Rural Pact Coordination Group proposes a new tool for rural stakeholders to take the power back: the Declaration on the Future of Rural Areas and Rural Development Policy in the European Union. After a recent test drive, Edina Ocsko unpacks why rural voices struggle to shape policy and identifies some concrete next steps. Op-ed by Edina Ocsko. […]
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Crafting the Collective – Tijs Boelens’ Vision for a Farmer-Led Grain Revival
If we want local food systems to thrive, every link in the chain must be nurtured: seeds must be saved, farmers must earn a fair price, processors must adapt their methods—and consumers must be able to afford to buy the final product. Crafting a story and connecting people are centrally important to successfully cultivating biodiversity, as Belgian farmer Tijs Boelens has found out in his work to integrate heritage grains into the supply chain. Portrait by Adèle Pautrat. […]
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Re-Sowing the Seeds of Connection in Switzerland, Part I – Nurturing What We Have
The Seeds4All project emerges from a Swiss immersion with a two-part reflection on how seeds can become anchoring points for rebuilding connections and fostering healthy interdependencies in the pursuit of collective empowerment. In part one, we discover efforts to revive local fava bean varieties—as levers for reweaving ties between mountains and plains, and reclaiming traditional peasant skills. […]
Latest from Brussels
Op-Ed | Europe Must End The Double Standards In Toxic Pesticides Exports
A number of hazardous pesticides which are banned in the EU are freely manufactured and exported to other countries with weaker regulations, putting human health and the environment at risk. The EU also allows the import of produce grown with these banned pesticides. The End Toxic Pesticide Trade Coalition – a broad coalition of NGOs and trade unions – has launched a new campaign around the EU’s double standards. Op-ed by UN Special Rapporteurs Marcos A Orellana and Olivier De Schutter. […]
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Goodbye Carbon Markets, Hello What Exactly?
Climate Farmers – an influential think-and-do tank focused on regenerative farming – has stepped away from Carbon Markets. This news has been making headlines since it was announced in June. So what’s the problem with carbon markets? And are there alternatives that might work? Oliver Moore spoke with Ivo Degn of Climate Farmers, and others in the field to find out more. […]