Agroecology Archives - Agricultural and Rural Convention

More Food less Feed – Agriculture and the War on Ukraine

March 7, 2022 ARC

An appalling war on Ukraine has manifold impacts. The direct human cost is immense and incalculable. The impacts on the world’s agri-food trade and commodity systems will be huge. The 4 F’s – fuel, feed, fertilizer and of course food are all heavily implicated. So what to do? Will Europe suspend progress on rerouting the food system towards more resilience, by doubling down into the worst aspects of these 4 F’s? Or can some aspects of a deeper iteration of food sovereignty emerge? […]

France | Change Is In Our Hands – Part 2

February 4, 2022 Valérie Geslin

Far from the stereotype of the solitary farmer, Marion and Benjamin make a conscious effort to get farming out of its bubble. It’s the only way they’ll shift mentalities, they believe. The two farmers, who are associates in a cooperative mixed farm in Brittany, also open up on the thorny issues of unpaid activism, taking holidays as a farmer, and feeding the community versus feeding the world. Part 2 of an interview with Valérie Geslin. […]

In Full – Agroecology Europe Barcelona Letter

January 26, 2022 ARC

Here is the full text of Agroecology Europe’s Barcelona Letter on Agroecology. Policy and investments, inclusion and participation, rural-urban connections, pricing, breeding, technology and transition all feature in this call out for a different approach to how we the people do farming, land and food. […]

Event | Soup and Talk 2022 on January 22nd

January 17, 2022 ARC

The Soup & Talk 2022 good food and good farming slam is happening via Zoom on Saturday, January 22nd from 17:00 to 20:00 CET. The much-loved Soup and Talk event traditionally takes place at the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation, Berlin, with inspiring agri-food initiatives and hot soup welcoming hundreds of freezing demonstrators in out of the cold after Europe’s biggest protest for a better food system. […]

Oxford Real Farming Conference 2022 | New Dawn For Solidarity

January 17, 2022 Ursula Billington

After three action-packed days, the Oxford Real Farming Conference 2022 ended on a positive note, forging hope from solidarity. With powerful takeaways on diversity and knowledge sharing, there was much to be optimistic about thanks to contributions from a multifarious community of kindred spirits and a vibrant youth element. Ursula Billington reports. […]

France | Change Is In Our Hands – Part 1

January 14, 2022 Valérie Geslin

Marion and Benjamin are pig and dairy farmers on a community funded farm in Brittany, France. Agricultural engineers by training, they have reverse engineered the process of farming to make sure they get to take time off and make a decent living. In part 1 of a fascinating conversation, Valérie Geslin, project coordinator for Nos Campagnes en Résilience, unpacks their experiments in rural resilience. […]

2022 – ARC’s Year of the Rose-Ringed Parakeet…and more!

January 10, 2022 ARC

What lessons can we learn from the plucky parakeet? How will we navigate this strange and beautiful world in the year ahead? From Seeds4All to Soup and Talk, from rural action to diverse diversification, ARC has a plan. Come, join in. […]

Oxford Real Farming Conference 2022 | Plenty To Chew On!

December 22, 2021 Ursula Billington

The New Year gets off to an exciting start with the Oxford Real Farming Conference on January 5th-7th 2022. Back online this year, the conference has added social justice strings to its bow with new partners that focus on land rights and equality. As well as the traditional menu of sessions on sustainable farming practices and policy, food sovereignty and supply chains, the event will bring in indigenous perspectives from around the globe. Ursula Billington reports on what not to miss. […]

Letter From The Farm | The Slower Path To Paradigm Change

November 5, 2021 Chiara Garini

We’re back on Chiara Garini’s farm at the foot of the Italian Alps. After her ambitious plans to open an on-farm restaurant, Chiara reflects on the benefits of taking the slower path to paradigm change. Paradoxically this setback serves well her overall vision of agri-food systems as the farm continues to reap the benefits of diversification. Meanwhile in local politics, divisive narratives around farming have led to a disappointing development, leaving Chiara more convinced than ever that agroecology is the way forward. […]

Letter From The Farm | Meet The New Peasants

October 22, 2021 Isabella Lang

Isabella Lang has been working on her friends’ farm in the Austrian Alps since the spring. After four years in the Brussels bubble, she was keen to get her hands back in the soil. It’s been several months of hard work, long days, amazing food, and a healthy pace of life. In this first letter Isabella introduces us to the farm. Meet the new peasants. […]

Farm to Fork Strategy: Ambitious, Realistic Innovation Pathway for the European food System

October 19, 2021 ARC

Since the release of the Farm to Fork strategy, the Commission has faced a considerable amount of criticism, which generally cites the potential economic and food security impacts of F2F. Here IDDRI experts analyse the methodological limitations underlying this criticism and shows that a more systemic approach instead reinforce the relevance, coherence and realism of the Commission’s strategy. […]

Agroforestry and CAP – all Talk, no Trees

September 27, 2021 Andrea Beste

Agroforestry is positively highlighted in many adopted texts and directives from Brussels and is also mentioned in the framework of the CAP and proposed as a possible measure of the Eco-Schemes. Despite its undisputed benefits, it is still largely unknown. What’s more surprising is that the current process of CAP strategic plans seems to virtually overlook it – so is it all spin, no substance? Andrea Beste has more. […]

Letter From The Farm | Instead Of Noise, Symphony

September 3, 2021 Freixo do Meio Users Cooperative

We’re back on the Montado do Freixo do Meio in Portugal, where exciting plans are afoot to have the community farm recognised as a Private Protected Area. Farmer and owner Alfredo Cunhal Sendim, a member of the Freixo do Meio Users Cooperative, explains their vision of a strong and organised community to safeguard the natural system, and how this ties into the cooperative’s broader visions of agroecology, permaculture and food sovereignty. […]

Patrick’s Rants – Agroforestry? It’s the Bees Knees.

June 27, 2021 Patrick Worms

Patrick Worm’s sets his sights on the armyworm, and how to cope with it. Turns, out, providing patches of natural and semi-natural habitats around farms can attract some of the many critters that are the armyworm’s natural predator. Trees are a handy technique to better manage crop and, bonus, not poison people the water or the soil. Patrick Worm’s is the Senior Science Policy Advisor of World Agroforestry (ICRAF) and the President of the European Agroforestry Federation. […]

Organics, Agroforestry, Eco-schemes – for a Just Transition in Ireland

June 24, 2021 Oliver Moore

ARC2020’s Oliver Moore spoke to JOCECA – the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action – a Committee in the Irish Parliament. This comes just as the CAP trilogues start to finish, and as the Irish Parliament (Dáil) approves an ambitious Climate Bill which aims for 50% reduction in emissions by 2030. Below is a transcript of what he said. A longer version of an accompanying paper is also in the article. […]