In this opinion piece from Justyna Zwolińska, who hails from Janusz Wojciechowski’s home country of Poland, we hear some reasons for optimism about the recently appointed Commissioner: both his previous track record and his initial musings give cause for hope, Zwolińska contends. […]
Switzerland is well known for holding referendums. A new one that’s coming up asks for a change in subsides to farmers, towards supporting more ecological priorities. If the Clean Drinking Water Initiative passes, payments will go to farmers who don’t use pesticides or antibiotics, and who carry lower livestock numbers on their farms. Klaus Lans has more. […]
In this second of a two part series with Alan Matthews, we discuss his home country of Ireland and CAP. Oliver Moore speaks with Matthews on Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions; its increasing herd size, in particular in dairy; the success of the European Innovation Partnerships; the role of coops; issues facing the beef sector; diversification and more. […]
Alan Matthews runs the CAPreform.eu blog, one of the best and most consistent sources of up to date, detailed analysis of all things CAP. Here we present part one from an interview between our own Oliver Moore and Professor Matthews. Part one is broad and introductory, looking at what the Commission has proposed and potential pitfalls. Part two is more specific and related to Matthews’ home country of Ireland. […]
Montenegro is investing heavily in a new highway to connect rural inlands with the coastal port city of Bar. But will farmers actually benefit from the hugely expensive project? Hans Wetzels has more. […]
In a glaring failure for checks and balances, a leaked European Commission audit concludes that Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš continues to profit from his business empire. The billionaire premier is in conflict of interest under both Czech and EU law, say the EC auditors. The EU seems set on making an example of the Czech PM. Will this mean a clampdown on corruption in Central Europe? […]
The European Court of Auditors examined farmers income stablisation in a recent report. The findings were mixed, with direct payments, insurance, mutual funds all assessed. Many measures have failed to live up to expectations. What’s more, the uptake of these payments was found to be uneven, inefficient and, in some cases, unfair. And in some cases public aid and insurance may even be prolonging unsustainable practices. Natasha Foote has more. […]
Here we present key facts and statements from the EU’s Green Deal document, with brief analysis from ARC2020. From an agri-food perspective, the Green Deal document in the main refers to an as yet undeveloped document, the EU’s Farm to Fork strategy document. This is due in 2020, after a period of consultation. However we can already read between the lines and see where the fault lines for future discussions and battles are. […]
ARC2020 is one of 30 civil society organisations have written an open letter in order to highlight the priorities and actions that the F2F strategy should have in order to provide a coherent response to societal concerns about biodiversity, climate change, health, income of all workers in the food chain, social equity and animal welfare, amongst others. […]
Oliver Moore spoke with Irish organic cattle farmer Sean Butler about rewilding and organic farming. The west-of-Ireland man is already starting to encourage nature to come back – but could CAP help? […]
Are you driven by a passion for policy? Do you want to work in Brussels, at the cutting edge of agri-food, rural and environmental politics and decision-making? Do you want to have a say in making European farming and food policy really working for people and planet? […]
A new report using economic research from 46 farms aims to improve understanding of the underlying economics of upland farming, and how this can be improved to both benefit the environment and increase the financial resilience of these businesses. […]
In this three part series we present an analysis by Dr. Andrea Beste on the similarities, differences and synergies between the organic, agroecological and regenerative farming movements. Part three here outlines the relatively new regenerative agriculture movement. A German version of the entire series is also available if you click through. […]
In this new three part series we present an analysis by Dr. Andrea Beste on the similarities, differences and synergies between the organic, agroecological and regenerative farming movements. Part two here outlines the history and current status of agroecology. A German version of the entire series is also available below. […]
Big corporations, with a vested interest in an export-orientated, highly intensive model of farming, have given financial support to the Boeren Protests that have swept the Netherlands. However this intensive model is coming under increasing criticism from farmers who are being asked to do an array of sometimes contradictory things. Disparate groups are now coming together to offer ways out of this impasse. Part 2 from Hans Wetzels. […]
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