Latest from EU Member States Archives - Agricultural and Rural Convention

Italy | A Love Letter From The Farm

July 17, 2026 Chiara Garini

After eight beautiful, mucky, frustrating, biodiversity-filled and fulfilling years of giving voice to farmers—for who better to narrate the highs and lows of life on the farm?—the much-loved “Letters From The Farm” series is drawing to a close. And so we invite the doyenne of the series, our very first contributor, to guide us into a series of closing reflections. Welcome back to Chiara Garini’s forest garden at the foot of the Italian Alps. […]

A Taste of Community Breeding in Italy

July 16, 2026 Adèle Pautrat

While developing seeds suited to the specific conditions of organic farming still faces significant challenges, multi-stakeholder breeding systems are proving effective in steering research towards greater diversity. Among them, the participatory approach branches out into numerous projects and living labs across Europe, aiming to create new varieties tailored to local needs. Reporting from an experimental field day in Italy, Seeds4All project coordinator Adèle Pautrat explores the concept of participatory plant breeding, while agronomist Michael Daddio shares his inspiring thoughts on breeding as a tool to empower communities. By Adèle Pautrat and Michael Daddio […]

Hungary | Hands on the Land to Grow Alternatives for Humanity

July 10, 2026 Zsámboki Biokert

Welcome back to Zsámboki Biokert, a market garden and alternative learning space, located close to Budapest. Young trainees flock here to learn how to work with nature and grow nutrient dense food. This knowledge-sharing is part of a broader strategy of resilience – for young people in pursuit of meaningful lifestyles grounded in wellbeing, but also for the farm team and wider community. When overwhelmed by the scale of the challenges, collective advocacy for agroecology can be a coping technique. A letter from the farm by Logan Strenchock. […]

In Search of Untasted Flavours

July 8, 2026 Adèle Pautrat

Native to East Asia, the Goumi tree (Elaeagnus multiflora) is a rare find in Europe, which is a surprise considering its long list of desirable traits. Hardy and robust, the shrub requires almost no maintenance. It thrives in poor soil, which it helps enrich thanks to the nitrogen-fixing nodules on its roots. With pale green foliage, it produces fragrant white flowers, and small, glossy red fruits that look like candied berries. In a happy coincidence, not only did I discover that June is the perfect moment to taste the Goumi, but that there is actually someone growing them just a short train ride from Brussels, where I live. By Adèle Pautrat. […]

Ireland Takes the EU Wheel: CAP Cash, Livestock Matters and Securing What Exactly?

June 30, 2026 Oliver Moore

From July 1, Ireland’s EU Presidency promises to put food security, farming and fisheries centre-stage. But will it use its moment to build a fairer food system – or simply defend the descent into a burning planet? Oliver Moore reports from Ireland. […]

Germany | Legal win for a collective land purchase makes a couple’s farming dream come true

May 29, 2026 ARC

What began as a small French-fries stand and a desire to grow their own potatoes brought two young farmers into the heart of one of Europe’s most pressing agricultural challenges: access to land. Since founding their organic farm near Münster, David Büchler and Sarah Hoffmann have followed a path familiar to many new entrants, marked by long searches and uncertain opportunities. But a collective purchase model made long-term security possible, after a legal case that finally culminated in a win. By Christine Etienne. […]

Investing in the Next Generation – When local politics takes on the school canteen

May 22, 2026 Louise Kelleher

It takes a village to raise a child. What happens when a village makes the choice to help feed its children? What are the steps to ensure good local food on plates and in bellies? How can local authorities take action beyond national or EU policies? We visited the school canteen in Plessé, France, to find out. Louise Kelleher reports. […]

Sitting with our contradictions – Learning to reconnect with nature and find peace as humans

May 7, 2026 Louise Kelleher

A farm can be a place for the kind of learning that’s hard to find in educational institutions. Combining her work in both farming and networking with Education for Sustainable Development, Ann Marie Weber explores how collaboration among regional actors and transformative learning processes can drive structural change toward sustainable food systems. She runs a small farm near Marburg (Hesse, Germany), where she grows vegetables to make hot sauce, chutneys and other preserves – not for market, but to help create a space for people to connect with their own agency, food and nature. In conversation with Louise Kelleher. […]

Hungry for Democracy? Here’s a flavour of France’s local solutions for food sovereignty

April 30, 2026 Pauline Petit

If the French municipal elections this spring taught us anything, it’s that what’s on our plates is most certainly political. Food is about much more than farming. In rural areas especially, food directly impacts health, landscapes, and quality of life, and it was a topic on doorsteps all over France during the recent campaign. Right now a political window of opportunity is open: for communities to take the power back over their food systems. Pauline Petit reports. […]

Who milks the cows when farmers fall sick?

April 10, 2026 Natasha Foote

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. […]

France | The Ag Coop that Shares More than Machinery

March 25, 2026 Pauline Petit

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. […]

Italy | The Fruits of Unseen Labour

March 6, 2026 Lana Chaduneli

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. […]

Agroecology has a PR problem. Here’s how we can solve it.

February 20, 2026 Robbie Blake

How accessible are conversations around transition? Good Food For All! – a European Citizens’ Initiative carried by a coalition of over 300+ civil society organisations across Europe, including ARC2020 – is taking important strides to help make the messages of the food sovereignty and agroecology movements heard. But the battle for hearts, minds and policies is far from won. In this op-ed, Robbie Blake of IPES-Food asks how these movements can tell better stories. […]

Why Mercosur hits a nerve in rural Poland – for farmers and the environment

February 17, 2026 Igor Tomasz Olech

One month after its signing by Mrs von der Leyen, the EU-Mercosur agreement remains contentious, with the European Parliament scrutinising its legality. In Poland – one of a handful of Member States that voted against the deal – it remains a lightning rod for farmers’ grievances. And it’s not just farmers who are unfairly expected to absorb risks: new research co-authored by Igor Olech for Poland’s Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics spotlights structural loopholes in Mercosur’s sustainability architecture. Igor Olech reports from Poland. […]

Learning from Germany’s Decades of Public Biogas Support

February 13, 2026 Sophie Scherger

Ireland, Spain and Poland are among a number of Member States now looking to biogas to support the transition to sustainable energy systems. But is investing in biogas infrastructure a beneficial use of public funds? In new research, Sophie Scherger of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy lays out the lessons that can be learned from an early adopter of biogas: Germany. Op-ed by Sophie Scherger. […]