Across the continent, farmers, environmentalists, pastoralists, fishers are grabbing their pots and spoons to call for a more socially and environmentally just European food system. We want to see policy which supports small farmers and rural livelihoods, protects our soil, water, ecosystems and biodiversity and provides healthy food for all. On the 27th and 28th October, let’s make sure we are heard! […]
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. […]
Capping CAP payments at E60,000, a specific compulsory payment to small farmers, adjustment of basic income to basic income support “for sustainability”, changes in young farmer supports, and a move from rural development over to risk management via insurance are just some of the proposals in freshly leaked CAP proposals. Read on for document to download and ARC analysis. […]
Samuel Féret gives us his analysis of the new European agricultural policy promoted by Emmanuel Macron. Despite France being the CAP’s leading recipient of financial support, at 12 billion a year on average, President Macron is willing to break taboos and change the narrative about France in the EU. […]
The role of farming in climate change mitigation is controversial and fraught. The UN COP (Conference of Parties) Climate Change has tentatively introduced soil and carbon sequestration into its workings, via 4 pour 1000. However the role of particular agronomic practices involving livestock is under special scrutiny. Does livestock release more than it sequesters, or does the farming model matter? What about deep carbon storage? And how will policy makers work with new research and 4p1000? […]
Our own Oliver Moore has been busy in Ireland talking and writing about about the (lack of an) Organic Farming Scheme in recent weeks. He was on the TV: with demand for #organics growing, why is demand way outstripping supply in Ireland and is it time to reopen our organic scheme #ettg @ellamcsweeney pic.twitter.com/uhFnAwo409 — Paula Williams (@paulawilliamss) February 22, 2018 You can watch the full show here (national restrictions may apply) And you can listen to him on the radio too on the Saturday morning show Countrywide. Last week he told us about the confusion the Irish Department of Agriculture has with regard to opening or not opening the Organic Farming Scheme. Schrödinger’s Cat and the State of the Irish Organic Farming Scheme While this week he covered the recent Biofach 2018 event – the world’s largest organic trade show for the Irish Farming Examiner. Below is what he wrote about what the Irish organic certification bodies – IOFGA and the Organic Trust – have to say about the lack of an Organic Farming […]
Sebastian Lakner & Guy Pe’er question the effectiveness of the current CAP’s performance, as well as the lack of ambition in the CAP communication. Current direct payments and upcoming supposed flexibilities are considered in detail. […]
The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of Yorkshire, Northern England. Agriculture has been an integral part of the area’s culture and economy for thousands of years. A hill farm agricultural system is upheld here, with sheep as the primary livestock, although many have diversified into mixed beef systems, and dairy operations in the lower valleys. How has CAP – and its changes over time – impacted on this place and its people? […]
This long read by Frank Armstrong gives a background into what he calls the livestock industrial complex. Part history, part contemporary agri-food overview, part health and environmental case and part personal note, this article is speaks of power and how it operates in different spheres. These include politics, media and nutritional advice, all through the prism of livestock farming in Ireland. […]
Here we present a range of perspectives on the recent CAP Communication by Commissioner Phil Hogan. A range of farmer organisations, NGOs, experts and others are represented. […]
There are some big and pressing topics in agri-food and for rural places. Some of these are ongoing – rural and farming depopulation, land access, agroecology, economic and ecological disparities in the Common Agricultural Policy – and others are new. So what’s new – and what’s worth covering in debate form? […]
In part two of this exclusive three parter on Spain’s internal CAP debate, Marta Zygadlo delves deeper into the substance of the position adopted by Spain with regard to the European Commission’s CAP consultation, focusing here on financing. […]
In this exclusive three part series, Marta Zygadlo – a lawyer in Spain working on food systems and food governance, explores the fascinating CAP debate in the Iberian country. Part one introduces the broad contours of the debate, including the Spanish government’s response document to the European Commission CAP consultation. […]
NGOs are urging a root and branch reform of agricultural policy to take the place of the CAP in the post-Brexit years. The Sustain alliance has published a four-part policy briefing. This is part two of our mini series presenting two scenarios from the UK for life #AfterCAP. […]
A silver lining in the Brexit cloud is that people can radically rethink how food, farming and the rural space operate in the UK. What will this mean for direct payments, for environmental regulations, for food security – and who will do the hard work of farming? Finally, is some of this blue sky thinking of interest to the rest of Europe? […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention