Belgium Archives - Agricultural and Rural Convention

Crafting the Collective – Tijs Boelens’ Vision for a Farmer-Led Grain Revival

July 4, 2025 Adèle Pautrat

If we want local food systems to thrive, every link in the chain must be nurtured: seeds must be saved, farmers must earn a fair price, processors must adapt their methods—and consumers must be able to afford to buy the final product. Crafting a story and connecting people are centrally important to successfully cultivating biodiversity, as Belgian farmer Tijs Boelens has found out in his work to integrate heritage grains into the supply chain. Portrait by Adèle Pautrat. […]

A Leek for Change! The Belgian Trio on a Mission to Save Seeds

July 1, 2024 Adèle Pautrat

You’ve probably heard of people extending an olive branch – perhaps less common is offering up a leek. Seeds4All digs into why the leek symbolises the struggle for seed autonomy and why the cooperation project De Vroente, based in Sint-Lievens-Esse in the Flanders region, pours so much energy into this. Report by Adèle Pautrat. […]

Sustainable Food Systems | Public Canteens – A Tool for Regional Resilience

March 19, 2024 ARC

Manger Demain (Eating Tomorrow) is a strategy and an organisation in Wallonia, Belgium aiming to coordinate, link and facilitate local and regional initiatives engaged in sustainable food. The work of Manger Demain was one of many inspiring examples presented at the Marburg Sustainable Food Systems gathering co-hosted by ARC2020, kollektiv von MORGEN and the Arbeitsgemeinschaft bauerliche Landwirtschaft last November as part of the Rural Europe Takes Action – Germany project […]

ARC Lookahead – What’s on the EU agrifood policy menu in the coming months?

January 24, 2024 Natasha Foote

With the EU elections just around the corner, policy makers are scrambling to push the last of the agrifood files across the finish line before Brussels switches into election mode. This means the next few months could prove decisive for the future direction of the agrifood sector. Natasha Foote looks ahead. […]

Beer farmers – a Fair Deal for a Good Drink

September 20, 2023 Hannes Lorenzen

Belgium is famous for beer. However, that beer is a fast brew with almost no ingredients from Belgium. – and its brewed within six weeks. Traditional Belgian beer like Lambic and Geuze needs up to three years to mature. Yes, that is a long time, but there is a good reason for slowing down a bit. Meet the folks doing just that. […]

Wallonia’s Observation Letter: A plan that fails to address climate and biodiversity crises

June 15, 2022 ARC

Here you’ll find the Observation Letter to Wallonia’s CAP Strategic Plan which ARC2020 has obtained. In no less than 210 points, the Commission exposes a lack of strategy towards healthy, sustainable and economically viable food systems for farmers, as well as incompatibilities and serious shortcomings in the measures proposed to deal with the climate and environmental crises. The Walloon government must review its copy by September 30th and obtain validation from the Commission so that the plan can enter into force on January 1st 2023. […]

Wallonia’s CAP Plan: Better late than never?

February 17, 2022 Mathieu Willard

While one third of Member States missed the deadline for submitting national strategic plans for the CAP (CSP), we find Belgium (comprising Wallonia and Flanders), still seemingly bogged down in the last details of the CSP, trying not to set yet another record in negotiation length. Will Wallonia ask again for a derogation on coupled livestock support, and how will the eco-scheme on extensive grazing fare with more coupled money into livestock? […]

Belgium | The Hidden Cost of Food Waste Redistribution

November 20, 2020 Natasha Foote

Redistributing food waste is surely a win for the environment and for society. So why is it such an uphill struggle? In the Belgian capital, a project called ‘Feed the culture’ helps out workers in the arts sector who are struggling to put food on the table because of the COVID-19 closures. Natasha Foote speaks to the volunteers on the ground in Brussels. […]

Coping with Covid19 – Letter from a Brussels Lockdown

March 21, 2020 Hannes Lorenzen

In our part of the street, some 100 meters, live 21 nationalities – we counted that at our last summer street festival, sharing food from across the world. Now we share our songs at 8 pm from our balconies, giving applause to the doctors and nurses trying to save lives. We are all Italians at this moment. We know we are just at the beginning of a huge challenge. We have no idea what is still to come. […]

Brussels | Cooking Up A Local Food Strategy

April 3, 2019 ARC

With the recent election of a mayor keen to strengthen local democracy and serve up healthy, local food for all, Ixelles, in Brussels, is laying the groundwork for an exciting local food strategy. ARC2020’s Hannes Lorenzen is involved. […]

Breaking: CETA Court may be subject to EU Court Test

October 27, 2016 ARC

In what is a fast moving a still fluid situation, it appears the Walloon administration in Belgium may have made CETA signing conditional on a significant change – the international court element to the treaty may now, it appears, be subject to European Court scrutiny. […]

Belgium Bites Back – Brussels’ Everything Else Big Parade

April 10, 2016 ARC

On Sunday 20th March, the Big Everything Else Parade (Tout Autre Chose/Hart Boven Hard) took place in Brussels. Many alternatives to the business-as-usual austerity and corporate control agenda were represented, including the better food and farming brigade. Nele Baltide was there. Here’s her report – a fascinating snapshot of the great food initiatives happening on the ground in Belgium. […]

Milk Crisis News Round Up

September 3, 2015 Oliver Moore

Protests about the milk crisis in the UK, Ireland, Germany, France and even New Zealand. Via European Milk Board. #MilkCrisis […]

Police to use tear gas on protesting dairy farmers

August 21, 2015 Oliver Moore

More than 600 dairy farmers with about 600 tractors protested at Liege, Belgium regional airport with blockades again various companies. […]