our rural partners Archives - Agricultural and Rural Convention

European Days of Action 2025 – United for Food Justice

November 13, 2025 ARC

550 voices, 28 countries, one demand: Food Justice. The European Days of Action, this year in its eighth edition, put a spotlight on the need to shift power away from corporations and towards people, so everyone can access healthy, affordable, culturally appropriate food, grown in ways that protect farmers, workers, and the planet. Photo story by Pauline Naterstad and Lina Hartwig of Good Food Good Farming. […]

“A Joyful Revolution” – Voices from the Agroecology Europe Forum 2025

November 7, 2025 Robin Llewellyn

Europe’s food and farming sectors may be under strain from policies obsessed with a (biased) competitiveness, but a growing movement is pushing back. The Agroecology Europe Forum held in Malmö, Sweden on 2-4 October 2025, showcased the strength of agroecology as both resistance and science, advancing resilience, decolonialism, and justice across rural landscapes. Robin Llewellyn of Agroecology Europe has more. […]

European Rural Parliament 2025 — Redefining Rurality in the Scottish Highlands

October 31, 2025 Theona Morrison

On October 20-23, over 400 rural delegates from over 40 European countries gathered in Inverurie in the north-east of Scotland for the 6th European Rural Parliament (ERP). It isn’t that communities lack capacity for change; they lack the support to deliver. This is the message behind the Inverurie Declaration, a call for systemic change from the delegates that asks not for help but for partnership from European, national and regional authorities. Theona L Morrison, Chair of Scottish Rural Action, shares her reflections on the 6th ERP. […]

Rise for Food Justice – Join the European Days of Action 2025!

September 23, 2025 ARC

October is just around the corner – and so are the European Days of Action! Since 2018, the #GoodFoodGoodFarming movement has united thousands across Europe to demand just food systems. This year’s focus is Food Justice: recognising food as a human right, not just a commodity. Today’s system puts profit before people, but this October citizens can take action and call on EU leaders to ensure safe, healthy and affordable food for all. Good Food Good Farming tells us more. […]

The Rise of a New Grain Alliance – Germany’s Free Bakers Sow the Seeds of Change

July 9, 2025 Hannes Lorenzen

A new idea is brewing in Germany, with the first seeds sown of a new alliance along the food value chain for cereals and legumes. ARC2020’s President Hannes Lorenzen reports on how farmers, bakers, seed savers, researchers, and grain breeders are coming together with a shared vision […]

The EU’s Public Plate – An Opportunity for Food System Transformation

June 18, 2025 ARC

Public procurement of food in the EU is worth billions annually – money that could help deliver healthy meals in schools, hospitals and nursing homes, while supporting sustainable agriculture, fair incomes for farmers and workers’ rights. As the EU prepares to revise its procurement directives, this op-ed by ICLEI’s Jean-Marc Louvin asks why the potential of sustainable food procurement is still untapped – even as many local and regional governments are already demonstrating what’s possible […]

Polish Rural Forum Takes Action For A Broad Rural Alliance

May 21, 2025 Hannes Lorenzen

The Polish Rural Parliament launched earlier this month, holding its inaugural gathering at the European Congress on Rural Renewal and Development organised by the Polish EU Presidency on May 8-10 2025. What does this mean for the rural movement in Poland? Below we bring you an interview with its co-initiators, Ryszard Kamiński (Polish Rural Forum) and Szymon Migoń (Polish Rural Youth Union). But first, Hannes Lorenzen reports from the Congress in Poznan. […]

The Food Sovereignty Scandal Made in France

March 5, 2025 ARC

France has more than enough land to feed its inhabitants. Yet almost half of French farmland serves the global export trade. Food sovereignty will remain a pipe dream as long as the absurd globalised food system continues to hold sway, says a new report by Terre de Liens. The Rural Resilience project reports from the launch event in Paris. […]

Who Is Actually Profiting Here? – Uniting for Common Good at #WHES25

January 17, 2025 ARC

On Saturday January 18th, demonstrators in Berlin will take to the streets to say: “We are fed up with agri-industry!”. Ahead of the 15th annual Wir haben es satt! demo, Claudia Schievelbein of the Bauernstimme and AbL, reflects on the Weaving Common Ground gathering held in Poland last November, transition fatigue in agriculture and the need for better understanding between rural and urban areas. […]

France | Local Authorities Can Lead on Sustainable Food

November 18, 2024 ARC

France’s territorial food programmes are an exciting example of what can happen when local communities have a say in their food systems. An open letter signed by a collective of more than 120 French mayors and local councillors of all political stripes, 19 organisations and 7 scientists, and published on Friday in Le Monde, calls for a systemic vision and state support to local authorities who are working to advance the agroecological transition and transform local food systems. […]

Michael Dower Award for Rural Resilience – Nominate A Rural Action-Taker Today!

October 15, 2024 ARC

Michael Dower (1937-2022) has inspired rural Europe for decades. Co-founder of the European AgriCultural Convention (EAC), which later became ARC2020, he was a phenomenal agent of change. Launching today, the Michael Dower Award for Rural Resilience will showcase the efforts of local communities and individuals who are taking action to make rural Europe a better place to live. […]

October is Here – That Means European Days of Action!

October 2, 2024 ARC

Every October, farmers, consumers, activists and citizens come together to celebrate food and farming – and demand political change! For the seventh year in a row, the European Days of Action are happening. Mia Mancini and Pauline Naterstad from Good Food Good Farming tell us about the actions and some of the upcoming activities – and how to register yours! […]