Stuart Meikle takes us back to the future, to the poorly named green revolution aka the origins of industrial farming, to the humus farming of just before that, and up to today with the huge challenges farming faces. Agtechtakeback: Tech Revolutions, Retro-Innovations and Humus Farming. […]
Living Labs are to bridge the gap between academia and ‘real-world’ practice. They are meant to provide space for exchanges, and to facilitate the creative cooperation between a diverse group of actors seeking solutions to the challenges of a particular locality, solutions “that work”. […]
“We find great hope in the responses ecological grief is likely to invoke”. How – and where – do the authors find this hope, in what may be an entirely new geological era – the Anthropocene? […]
Through the co-operative, Values-Based Supply Chain model, family farms can increase revenue, resulting in enhanced viability, sustainability and resilience. This in turn can help to preserve the pivotal contribution of family farms to rural economy, society and environment. […]
Over the last few years, Ukraine went through dramatic political, socio-economic and cultural changes. Dr. Natalia Mamonova investigates how the rising Ukrainian national identity and patriotic sentiments during the geopolitical conflict with Russia changed the ways in which Ukrainian smallholders see their household farming. The revealed transformation may lead to an emergence of a food sovereignty movement in Ukraine. […]
An exciting happening in rural Ireland, which ARC2020 is very happy to be involved with, is on 26th and 27th May. This event focuses on – and celebrates – the may ways people can come together to make rural spaces better through food and farming. […]
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? […]
Agricultural knowledge systems, particularly formal knowledge institutes, and agricultural policy makers still need to increase their
acknowledgement of the value of local farmer knowledge. The more recent emergence of multi-actor knowledge networks and closer collaboration between formal knowledge institutes and farmers indicates the development of more participatory, inclusive and comprehensive knowledge and learning processes. […]
“resilience strategies can only be fully judged when we make clear and explicit our values, the specific qualities we wish to preserve, and the price we are willing to pay in the long run.” […]
As part of our rural sociology RETHINK Modernisation series, we present an article on prosperity. What does it mean in the rural context? Is it about income, or is there more to it than that? […]
As part of our RETHINK Modernisation series, we present an article on governance mechanisms. This article explores new organisational forms, roles and partners, while presenting six vital conditions for success. […]
A new European community-led local development fund, comprising 10% of four current EU funds, is one of the specific suggestions to come out of the 3rd European Rural Parliament. […]
The Third European Rural Parliament will take place this year on October 18-21 in Venhorst in the Netherlands. So what is the European Rural Parliament? What are the topics and themes? And where is Venhorst anyway? […]
How can we get young people back onto the land, into rural areas and contributing to local culture and the local economy? There are many routes. Here’s one approach a couple who make cheese have taken in Brittany. […]
Four new policy instruments have been proposed by the EEB – the European Environmental Bureau – for a future CAP. These instruments are put forward for use in the areas of ecosystems, rural development, healthy food and sustainable farming. […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention