A key EU Commission Food Security Communication has been circulating, which outlines some emergency measures the EU Commission proposes to in part deal with the food crises stemming from the war in Ukraine. The document, entitled “Safeguarding food security and reinforcing the resilience of food systems” is due for formal release tomorrow (Wednesday 23rd). So what’s in it? […]
The agri-food system is very exposed – and was even before the war in Ukraine and its implications. Nitrogen fertilizer has been the bedrock of how farming happens, and its availability has led to a very specific type of food production to flourish. Decisions must be made – about feeding people, about feeding pigs, about how a grass-based system can really function sustainably. Op-Ed from Stuart Meikle. […]
It has emerged that the SUR – Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation – may not be announced next week, as initially planned. Rather, on Monday 21st a decision will be made to postpose or not. This is just one example of how the EU Farm to Fork strategy is in a perfect storm: the agribusiness lobby against sustainable policies is now reinforced by war in Ukraine. Op-ed by Nina Holland, researcher at Corporate Europe Observatory. Hans van Scharen, press officer at Corporate Europe Observatory. […]
The war in Ukraine is destabilising food security in Europe. The solution is not to dismantle the Farm to Fork strategy but to act on it faster. Here’s how the scenario is playing out and what’s at stake. […]
Sebastian Lakner assesses the current, rapidly changing situation of agri-food trade and policies. How is the war impacting on agri-food supplies, and what are the responses at EU and national level? This opinion piece is an English language update of an earlier German post on the agricultural economist’s blog. […]
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? […]
The FAO expects former Soviet countries like Ukraine to play an important role in feeding the world the coming decades. But questions remain about who will benefit from the oncoming agricultural gold rush. […]
Today, April 17th, marks the annual International Day for Peasant Struggle. We’ve handpicked some of our top stories from recent years to give you an insight into the struggles facing European land workers and the resistance movements which respond to these. […]
The dynamics of small and large scale farms in post-Soviet countries is fascinating. Natalia Mamonova unpacks some of the complexities and intracties in this interview. […]
Natalia Mamonova examines Ukrainian peasants’ responses to land grabs and agribusiness expansion. It discusses the post-Soviet context, forms of incorporation of the rural population in land deals, the lack of rural protests and mobilization, and the prospects for small-scale agriculture in the country. […]
Where does Europe get its soybeans – South America, Ukraine, within the EU itself? Hans Wietzels talks sustainable soybean with Oksana Prosolenko of the Donau Soja Organisation she directs in Ukraine. […]
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. […]
Hannes Lorenzen tells us about war, peace, regulations, EU relations and rural ways in this letter from Ukraine. […]
Ukraine’s is in the news again after the Dutch vote against a free trade agreement between the EU and that state. But what do we know about its agricultural sector? Well, its booming. However, questions are being raised as to whom this new agrarian growth is actually benefiting; the rural population or established farming corporations? […]
If somehow 1 out of 3 agro-ecological zones would be removed from Ukraine’s possession, it would cause enormous consequences for farmers. […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention