There is something of an incongruity between organic and no till approaches to cereal and vegetable production. Both approaches emphasise building soil organic matter. However weed control is difficult in organic, without at least some minor soil disturbance. At a recent Agroecology Europe Forum in Greece, there were some promising signs of progress. […]
From a central and east European perspective, equalisation of CAP payments between all member states is long overdue. What is the background to this expectation, and how likely or desirable is it now, with Wojciechowski as Commissioner? […]
Gianluca Brunori argues that access, design and complexity are three conditions that define how rural digitalisation is unfolding, and if rural digitalisation is in line with the sustainable development goals. Building on this base, through Responsible Research and Innovation the DESIRA project will help society and political bodies respond to the challenges digitalisation generates in rural areas, agriculture and forestry. […]
What is this Thing called Agroecology? ARC2020’s Oliver Moore attended the 2nd Agroecology Europe Forum at the end of September. In this second of three reports from the event, he ponders the triad – science, practice and movement – and wonders how they – and other elements – intersect. Featuring audio from a number of participants. […]
Oliver Moore attended the 2nd Agroecology Europe Forum in Crete recently. In the first of three reports from the island and event, he tells us here about the one of the field trips. This was a visit to the inspiring Apo Kinou social coop, where production, distribution and consumption are all under collective control. […]
What should be the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the future for promoting agroecology? Which local practices and policies exist in Europe that support access to land for young and first generation farmers? Which traditional and new knowledge is available on soil restoration and biodiversity enhancements? Find out at the 2nd Agroecology Europe Forum in Greece 26-28th September. […]
Introducing our next debate series – rural dialogues. What is the state of play for rural Europe? Are rural places still lagging behind – forgotten, disadvantaged and in need of extra supports? Or is there a rural renaissance of sorts occurring, from smart villages to innovation hubs? Tell us what you know and let’s get talking! […]
Today, April 17th, marks the annual International Day for Peasant Struggle. We’ve handpicked some of our top stories from recent years to give you an insight into the struggles facing European land workers and the resistance movements which respond to these. […]
An exciting opportunity for young people to get involved with interesting, innovative sustainable rural development initiatives around Europe has come up. […]
Our Mazi farmer, Natasha Foote, joined the first International Meeting For Living Agriculture in Paris. It aims to forward agroecological transition by facilitating exchanges between people working in this field in diverse ways, in different areas and on all sorts of scales. Here is what she took back to the farm. […]
According to Eurostat statistics farm incomes are at a record high. So why aren’t farm organisations celebrating? And what do these numbers say about actual farm income in different member states of the European Union? […]
More than 300 participants from 40 countries gathered for the 7th international CSA Symposium. The theme of this Symposium was “Beyond Borders” and indeed the movement is working to transgress political, social and economic borders, from Lesvos to China, the US to Palestine. By Natalie Markiefka tell us about it. […]
Will hi-tech save agriculture from its otherwise intractable problems? Certainly technological stakeholders want it to appear so, as digitisation increases both in the fields and in the policy documents and future plans for the sector. So what is the peer to peer and agroecological response to this? […]
So how fairly will the cash be distributed, if the Commission’s proposals on the MFF come to fruition? And what’s happening to agri-environmental measures? And the eviscerated Pillar 2? An initial analysis. […]
Greening measures found to be ineffective in enhancing the CAPs environmental performance, a report by the European Court of Auditors finds. As well as critique of the current greening measures, the ECA report provided a set of recommendations to improve environmental performance in the upcoming CAP reform. […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention