Latest from EU Member States Archives - Page 14 of 68 - Agricultural and Rural Convention

Coping with Covid – Struggles and Resilience of Small-Scale Cheesemakers in Italy

April 27, 2020 Emanuele Amo

For Raflazz farm resilience is a way of life. The Adami family has been making artisanal cheese for generations here in the hills of Piedmont. When Italy shut down its restaurants on March 9, the farm had nowhere to sell its cheeses and meat. In another brutal blow, receipts from the farmhouse restaurant and B&B disappeared overnight. Raflazz is adapting fast, but like many small-scale farms it will need life support to survive the lockdown. Emanuele Amo reports from Piedmont. […]

Changing the Way Children Learn About Farms & Food

April 23, 2020 Hans Wetzels

What role can education play in the green transition? Educational ecologist Ans Rossy argues that farms can bridge the growing gap between city children and food, farming and nature, and thus pave the way to a sustainable economy. In an interview with Hans Wetzels for ARC2020, Rossy makes a case for forging connections between farms and schools to help the next generation understand the interdependence of ecosystems, to make learning more relevant, and to open up economic opportunities for farmers. […]

Winning the Battle with the Agri-Giant Next Door

April 9, 2020 Louise Kelleher

Czech organic farmer Libor Kožnar has won his yearlong battle with Agrofert, the agribusiness empire operating next to his small holding. He lost the organic certification for his wheat due to fertiliser drift from an Agrofert sprayer. Agrofert is a multimillion euro conglomerate with ties to the Czech prime minister, currently under investigation in a conflict of interest case by the European Commission. […]

Effects of Coronavirus on Agricultural Production – a First Approximation (part 2)

April 6, 2020 Sebastian Lakner

Agricultural production is on track for this year, and the EU is self-sufficient in most areas. Despite the challenges of the coronavirus crisis we have little reason to worry about food supply in the EU. This was Sebastian Lakner’s tentative conclusion in part 1 of his review of the available data. But his findings come with some major caveats. Trade in commodities must continue to flow to guarantee food supply in the context of the EU’s interconnected agribusiness model. Here in part 2 Sebastian Lakner examines another critical factor: labour and seasonal migrant workers. […]

UK | Coronavirus Diary: the Virus That Did a No-Deal Brexit on our Food Supply

April 3, 2020 ARC

It seems inconceivable that it was only a year ago when the UK was due to crash out of the EU under a no deal Brexit. Thankfully that crisis was averted. Leading up to that momentous non-event, I wrote about what might happen to our food supply in the event that our smooth trading relationship with the EU broke down utterly. One year on, we find ourselves in a remarkably similar position […]

LEAK – Ag Lobby Tries to Derail Farm to Fork

April 2, 2020 Oliver Moore

Copa-Cogeca is attempting to derail the European Commission’s Farm to Fork strategy. In a letter seen by ARC2020, dated April 2nd, the agri lobby have called for an “inception impact assessment” to be carried out, due to unique circumstances caused by Covid19. […]

Framing Farming – Nationalism, Food Security and Food Sovereignty

April 1, 2020 Igor Tomasz Olech

As the Covid-19 outbreak hits the economy, we may experience a paradigm shift that no one expected. Now is the time to unpack the difference between food security and food sovereignty. And better understand how these terms are used by different groups. Igor Tomasz Olech looks at how these concepts are framed in the EU, and how Poland is ripe for a conversation about food sovereignty. […]

Farming as its Ferment to be? Korean Natural Farming in Ireland

March 31, 2020 Oliver Moore

Having seen the unfolding of huge supply chain issues with Covid-19, there is much to be said for resilient self-sufficient farmers who can make their own inputs. Traditionally, this has been practices like seed saving and compost. Tom Stack takes it to another level. […]

UK | Coronavirus: Rationing Based on Health, Equity and Decency now Needed

March 29, 2020 ARC

Food security is no laughing matter at the best of times, but TIm Lang gasped when he first read the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra) annual food civil contingencies infrastructure report in 2018. It is barely a page long (in public at least) and assures us everything is OK and that the food system is resilient and able to withstand shocks. As the coronvirus racks the nation and panic buying continues, this complacency is about to be tested. […]

Coping with Covid19 – Learning From Then and Now

March 20, 2020 Oliver Moore

With Covid-19, our world has changed utterly. What can we learn from our recent past, and from interesting movements and moments now, to help us adjust and cope with the present and future? With Oliver Moore. […]

Where Soya has Scale – Ukraine, Big Ag and Land Concentration

March 2, 2020 Hans Wetzels

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. […]

France Sees World’s Biggest Increase in Organic Land Area

March 1, 2020 Oliver Moore

The organic market in France was worth E 9.1 billion in 2018, according to “The World of Organic Agriculture 2020” which comes out every February. Organic land area in France grew by 16.7% in 2018 – a huge increase for a single year. This growth of 290,000 hectares brings France to 2.04 million hectares, now second only to Spain in Europe, and the sixth highest land area farmed organically in the world. […]

Organic Land Area in Germany Passes 10%

February 23, 2020 Oliver Moore

Growth in organics in Germany continues on all fronts, bucking trends in conventional farming and food markets.In Germany, the organic land area has now passed 10%, having grown 50% in the last five years. Where is the growth occurring, and does the market match or exceed the land area? […]

Trouble With The Neighbours: Living Next Door to an Agri-Giant

February 9, 2020 Louise Kelleher

How do you get an organic farm off the ground with an agri-giant operating in the neighbouring field? Coming back to the land after a high flying career in New York City, Libor Kožnar expected the first year to be the hardest. What he didn’t expect was to find himself in a legal dispute with Agrofert, the sprawling agribusiness empire founded by the Czech prime minister. […]

Scotland | Organic Farming, Agroforestry Best for Emissions Reductions

February 6, 2020 Oliver Moore

Researchers studied 37 different measures to help Scottish Agriculture reduce its carbon footprint. Here’s what they found. […]