access to land Archives - Agricultural and Rural Convention

France | Lessons from Agricultural Archeology

3 January, 2021 Sjoerd Wartena

Since he first set foot in Vachères-en-Quint in La Drôme, France, almost half a century ago, Sjoerd Wartena has followed in the footsteps of the older generation, who taught him how to farm and raise animals in these austere uplands. Still fascinated by the ways of our predecessors, he has taken to tracing the remnants of farming practices indigenous to the area. Here he reflects on what we can learn from past generations and their ability to adapt to harsh conditions. […]

France | Letter To The Next Generation

21 December, 2020 Sjoerd Wartena

Sjoerd Wartena first went “back to nature” almost half a century ago. In this letter to the younger generation he reflects on our relationship with nature and the land, the importance of modelling change, and the role of humility and compassion in giving humanity a second chance. […]

Russia | Where Is Agriculture Going?

7 October, 2020 Alia Yakupova

Part 2 of our Russia series aims to shed a light on the Russian agricultural industry and changes that lie ahead. Alia Yakupova and Hannes Lorenzen walk us through a brief history of Russia and the potential impact of recent developments on global agriculture and food. […]

Czech Republic | Wrangling with the Next Generation

30 September, 2020 Louise Kelleher

Meet Czech farmer Terezie Daňková, who raises cattle and sheep on a 450 ha. ranch on mostly rented land in Southern Bohemia, with the help of her cowgirl daughter Barbora (20), her son Vojtěch (13), and a stable of horses. Louise Kelleher speaks to two generations of women farmers about the realities of rural life, the pull of the city, and what brings them back to the farm. […]

Your Land, My Land, Our Land: Using International Legal Tools

10 September, 2020 ARC

It’s now easier than ever to use international tools to fight for access to land. By crafting a strategy and tooling up with the right legislation, social movements and civil society organisations can achieve wins for land rights — as we can learn from the Sami people’s historic victory earlier this year, write Astrid Bouchedor, Attila Szocs, Philip Seufert, and Fernando García-Dory. […]

Combating The Financialisation Of Agriculture: Your Land, My Land, Our Land

7 July, 2020 ARC

With farms increasingly forced to go big or go broke, corporate interests are stepping in to shape agriculture. More transparency, participative decision-making, and CAP reform are among the tools that can be leveraged to combat the scourge of financialisation, write Robert Levesque, Tanguy Martin and Véronique Rioufol. […]

Resistance Is Fertile: Your Land, My Land, Our Land

1 July, 2020 ARC

How can grassroots organisations tackle the issue of land access? What strategies and legal tools are available to them, and what real-life examples have worked? In this excerpt from the comprehensive toolkit recently published by Nyéléni Europe and Central Asia platform for Food Sovereignty, the authors note that despite the challenges, resistance is fertile – and present a range of tools that land activists can use to fight for a fairer world. […]

Comprehensive Tool Kit for Agroecological Land Access Launched

2 June, 2020 ARC

Your Land, My Land, Our Land: Grassroots Strategies to Preserve Farmland and Access to Land for Peasant Farming and Agroecology” is a collection of case studies, practical tips legal tools and more, “to facilitate access to land for peasant and agroecological farmers, shepherds and mobile pastoralists, small-scale food producers, local residents, consumers, and environmentally-minded people and organisations, highlighting their crucial roles in building a more sustainable and fairer system […]

‘Too good to be true’ – The UK Co-op Helping New Entrants Get Access to Land

13 March, 2020 Natasha Foote

All too often access to land is an insurmountable hurdle for new entrants to farming. The innovative Ecological Land Co-operative tackles this head-on, by developing accessible smallholdings for ecological agriculture and supporting new farmers. […]

Book Extract | Of Seeds and Land Seizures in Sicily

9 February, 2020 Helene Schulze

Platforming the dynamic ways rural Europe has responded the key challenges of this time, the new book by Forum Synergies is an call to get stuck in. Read the final chapter on how Sicilian youth have organised access to land for young people, how to confront political uncertainty, why to pay attention to seeds and the value of an experimental spirit. […]

Rural Dialogues | Intergenerational Collaboration in the Vineyards of Southern France

6 November, 2019 Natasha Foote

Lack of access to affordable land is one they key obstacles to new farming entrants. The sector is suffering from a seriously aging population which puts the future of European small-scale farming at risk. How can we encourage more young people to get into the profession when access to land is so tricky? Natasha Foote talks us through the problem and explores one exciting approach on the vineyards of Southern France. […]

Climate Chaos and Land Use: Act Now or Face Irreversible Losses

28 October, 2019 Louise Kelleher

The longer we delay mitigation measures, the higher the costs and risks for the functions and services our land ecosystems provide, warns the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land Use. If we want to keep warming below 1.5°C, land use must be part of the equation. Louise Kelleher unpacks the findings. […]

Rural dialogues – Let’s talk!

5 May, 2019 Hannes Lorenzen

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! […]

France | Land Concentration – a Case For Regulation

23 January, 2019 ARC

All over Europe there is an issue with land concentration. The number of farms in France has halved over 25 years. Official figures underestimate the extent of land concentration in France. So what can be done about this? […]

The Great Polish Land Grab | Part 1

28 May, 2018 Hans Wetzels

There has been unrest in rural communities across Poland for some years. Land prices have increased dramatically and despite a moratorium on foreign land purchasing, foreign entities have found a way to buy land. Polish farmers are despairing and protesting en masse. Hans Wetzels reports from Poland on land grabbing. […]