crop diversification Archives - Agricultural and Rural Convention

Catcher in the Rye: Breeding Diversity for Unpredictable Conditions

September 7, 2020 Hannes Lorenzen

The new EU organic regulation, to be implemented in 2022, promises new opportunities especially for young farmers to regain control and knowledge of local conservation, breeding, sustainable use and marketing of seeds fit for organic production. As part of the team that negotiated the new EU organic regulation, ARC2020 President Hannes Lorenzen is curious about how the new less restrictive conditions for organic seed production and marketing will impact breeders and farmers. He spoke to an organic plant breeder and a young farmer about their ideas on the future of seeds. […]

Letter From The Farm | The Resilience and Privilege of a Rural Homestead

May 18, 2020 Brindusa Birhala

We’re back on Brindusa’s farm in Romania, where the Covid-19 crisis has halted her main sales. On the flip side she’s seeing a lot more interest in local food. She’s been doing a lot of thinking about food justice and the informal economy. The lockdown has made her take stock of her privilege. And so this year she’s determined to feed more people than ever. The only question is, how will she distribute this year’s bumper crop? […]

Drought support in Germany: Are state aids reasonable?

September 2, 2018 Sebastian Lakner

The German summer 2018 will be remembered for one of the hottest and driest. A long lasting high pressure brought high temperature records combined with extremely low rainfalls. Sebastian Lakner explains the state aids for farmers in Germany amounting to 370 Mio. EUR. […]

Climate Extremes Cause CAP Greening Rollback

August 21, 2018 ARC

CAP greening changes have been announced by the EU Commission because of drought However, these moves have annoyed some as they involve the cancellation of measures supposed to help make farming more resilient and robust in the face of climate extremes. And what will happen next, once this emergency passes? […]