Organic apple farm in Poland
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CAP | Poland: In a Triangle of Tension?

Hans Wetzels gets to grips with CAP and Poland, in particular how Polish farmers and Polish policy makers will adapt to likely changes, including a lower overall CAP budget. How the Nationalist party wins hearts and minds, Poland relates to EU subsidies and other EU countries, in particular France and Germany, and finally differences of opinion on organic farming’s productivity, feature in the final in this series. […]

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Ireland’s New Organic Action Plan | Committed – to What?

Like most EU Member States, Ireland periodically develops an action plan for its organic sector. There, a team of stakeholders, drawn from the conventional and organic sectors, as well as representatives of the Irish state’s Department of Agriculture, have developed the Organic Action Plan for Ireland, 2019-2025. Ireland has among the very lowest number of organic farmers, and organic land area, in European organics. So what difference will this plan make? […]

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MEPs Mean Business on Live Exports

The European Parliament last week called on member states to step up enforcement of existing rules on protecting livestock during transport. MEPs are urging member states to ramp up spot checks, use tracking technology to monitor compliance, and apply tougher penalties for offenders. Transport times should be cut, but the preference is to phase out live exports altogether in favour of local slaughtering. And when animals are transported to non-EU countries, EU standards should be applied. […]

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Czech Mate for Roundup?

The use of glyphosate has been curtailed in the Czech Republic with a new ban on desiccating crops for human consumption that came into effect on January 1, 2019. Grains and rapeseed are the main food crops affected by the new regulations. But the Ministry of Agriculture has been accused of making a U-turn on a blanket ban on glyphosate previously announced in September 2018. How far will the Czech Republic go in calling time’s up on Roundup? […]

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CAP | Polish Budget Battles in Brussels

As a major agricultural nation in the east, Poland has a significant interest in how CAP will unfold in the current reform process. While not all regions or sectors are the same in this large country, there are some common considerations. We have commissioned journalist Hans Wetzels to get to grips with CAP and Poland, Part 2. […]

Main stories

Bhutan | Spearheading a Transition to Organics?

The Kingdom of Bhutan is best known for its high national happiness levels, gorgeous Buddhist monasteries, untouched forests and nature protection areas. Lesser known is that fifteen years ago, the small country in the Himalayan Mountains pledged a shift to total organic food production. ARC2020’s Hannes Lorenzen reports on the innovative entrepreneurs spearheading this transition. […]

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CAP in Poland | Plans, Promises and Policy

As a major agricultural nation in eastern Europe, Poland has a significant interest in how CAP reform will unfold. How will Polish farmers and Polish policy makers will adapt to likely changes, including a lower overall CAP budget, greater environmental focus and the new delivery model? Hans Wetzels with a new series. […]