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Bottom-Up AKIS – An Inclusive Stakeholder Engagement Strategy

November 23, 2023 Shane Conway

Soil-specific human capital is not easily transferable, communicated or learnable. Future multi-actor EIP-AGRI projects will be unsuccessful if they do not learn from the farming community’s invaluable store of locally specific tacit and lay knowledge. Dr Shane Conway reports on the PREMIERE Horizon Europe Project. […]

Islands of Resilience: Nature Parks in France & Germany

November 22, 2023 Marie-Lise Breure-Montagne

Exploring regional nature parks is a way to continue a cross-analysis of the trajectories of France and Germany, towards the construction of more resilient rural territories. Two economic sectors – eco-tourism and sustainable agriculture – are attempting to develop in these areas, leading to conflicting priorities. […]

Îles de Résilience : Parcs Naturels en France & en Allemagne

November 22, 2023 Marie-Lise Breure-Montagne

Dans cet article, mettre en avant l’expérience des parcs naturels régionaux est une manière de poursuivre une analyse croisée des trajectoires France / Allemagne, vers la construction de territoires ruraux plus résilients. Deux secteurs économiques : l’éco-tourisme et l’agriculture durable tentent de s’y développer, non sans quelques conflits de priorité. […]

9 Key points on Ukrainian Agriculture in Wartime – Resilience, Reforms, & Markets

November 20, 2023 Natalia Mamonova

The Ukrainian government currently faces a major dilemma in agricultural development: to continue supporting large-scale export-oriented agriculture or refocus on family farming. A new report by Natalia Mamonova, Olena Borodina and Brian Kuns address this uneasy dilemma in the context of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Here Mamonova provides a summary of the key points. […]

We Can’t Eat Promises! Good Food Good Farming month culminates in Brussels protest

November 20, 2023 ARC

“We can’t eat promises!” – The slogan of the Good Food Good Farming protest for a better food system, which took place in Brussels on November 8, 2023. The protest was the culmination of the Good Food Good Farming October Action Days, and highlighted the urgent need for transformative agri-food policies to realise key aspects of the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy. […]

Commission to Renew Glyphosate for 10 years after Member States Fail to Reach Qualified Majority

November 16, 2023 Natasha Foote

The European Commission will unilaterally renew the approval of the weedkiller glyphosate for another 10 years after member states failed to find an agreement over the controversial herbicide. Natasha Foote has more. […]

The Policy Paradoxes of Underutilised Crops

November 13, 2023 ARC

Why do nearly 50% of our calories come from the same three crops: wheat, rice, and maize? Underutilised crops (UCs) boast a long history of cultivation in many parts of the world and hold great nutritional and environmental promise for the future of our food systems. What role for policy and a value chain approach which considers access to seeds, the ecological aspects of agricultural production, the power positions of stakeholders, the nutritional value of food, and food security and sovereignty? […]

Nature Restoration Law Emerges from Trilogue – What’s Changed?

November 10, 2023 ARC

The Nature Restoration Law (NRL) took a massive step forward in the evening of the 9th November, with the conclusion of inter-institutional negotiations. The adopted position, which still has some hurdles to surmount, is certainly less ambitious than the Commission’s initial proposal. While all ecosystems are in, the NRL largely adopts the Council’s flexible position, while some weaking of targets accommodates the Parliament’s position. Oliver Moore has an initial report. […]

Bugs from a Jug – Gene Edited Plants are Not the Only Things to Worry About

November 9, 2023 Marianne Landzettel

As many Europeans protest against new GMOs proposal by the European Commission another area of concern has emerged – soil microbes. It turns out that in the US, the agrochemical industry, without much fanfare, has already introduced commercial products containing new GMO microbes, with many more in the pipeline. So what are the concerns? Marianne Landzettel reports on a new report form Friends of the Earth US. […]

EU-Australia Trade Deal Goes Down Under in Osaka – Why?

November 4, 2023 Natasha Foote

After years working towards clinching a free trade deal between Australia and the EU, talks went ‘down under’ on Sunday (29 October) in Osaka after the two sides beefed over market access for agricultural products. So what happened – what’s the beef between these two? – and what does the UK have to do with the dramatic turn of events? Natasha Foote reports […]

Rural Resilience | Diary from the Ground – Autumn 2023

November 2, 2023 Marie-Lise Breure-Montagne

Food is much more than a stomach to be filled, and actions on the ground in France are focusing on the social barriers to local, healthy food for all. Marie-Lise Breure-Montagne reports. […]

Seeds, New GMOs & Food Policy Councils – Diversity Event Comes to Dublin

October 31, 2023 Oliver Moore

The 12th Forum of the European Coordination of Let’s Liberate Diversity, held in the Irish capital, drew over 100 participants from all over Europe and beyond, including Minister of State at the Irish Department of Agriculture, Pippa Hackett. The importance of agrobiodiversity, of food policy councils and the risks of the proposed European seed marketing proposal emerged as key themes from a vibrant event held in Dublin last week. […]

A Frugal Farm to Fork – Update on Pesticides, new GMOs, Animal Welfare & Sustainable Food Systems

October 20, 2023 Natasha Foote

No progress for the Sustainable Food System Law and only the transport aspect of the animal welfare legislation surviving. Some progress is being made to move the SUR – Sustainable Use of Pesticides regulation – on, though member states and the environment committee in the Parliament may be pushing in opposite directions. And somehow, Parliament is finding time to really push hard and fast for new GMO’s. […]

A Sustainable Food Systems Law – Important for People & Planet, Stalled by the Commission

October 17, 2023 Mathieu Willard

The Sustainable Food System Framework (SFS) was promised, and it must be upheld. As it appears that the SFS is losing its place in the commission’s legislative priorities, this two-part series aims to reaffirm the vital role this law could – and should – play. We are advocating for the SFS, which, in our view, forms the cornerstone of the Farm to Fork strategy. It represents the Commission’s first real opportunity to deliver a fully comprehensive food policy and could serve as the catalyst for a substantial reform of the CAP. Part 1 of two from Mathieu Willard. […]

Glyphosate Approval Fails to Get Qualified Majority – What’s Next?

October 13, 2023 Oliver Moore

In a suprise move, EU Member States did not reach a qualified majority for the reapproval of glyphosate at a meeting of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (PAFF) today. So what’s next? […]