rural Archives - Page 5 of 11 - Agricultural and Rural Convention

Patrick’s Rants | Farming Communities. Cooperatives. They Rock.

June 21, 2021 Patrick Worms

Why should farmers consider community, cooperative approaches? What are the benefits to doing so – and what happens when more individualistic approaches are taken instead? In the first of our occasional contributions from Patrick Worms, this testing topic is grappled with. Patrick Worms trained as a molecular geneticist and is the Senior Science Policy Advisor of World Agroforestry (ICRAF) and the President of the European Agroforestry Federation. These rants however, are 100% Patrick’s own personal opinion, and are not necessarily the views of any of the organisations he works for or represents. […]

Western Balkans | Reviving Rural Areas & Moving Towards EU Integration

June 17, 2021 ARC

This week the second Balkan Rural Parliament took place in Ohrid, North Macedonia. Organised by the Balkan Rural Development Network, the Balkan Rural Parliament gives a voice to rural communities in the making of rural development policy for the Western Balkans. For EU accession countries, rural development is a key driver to accelerate the process of EU integration. The Parliament highlighted the need to strengthen mutual trust on every level between people and national institutions, as well as between the Western Balkans and the EU to build equal partnerships, writes Aleksandra Todorovska. […]

France | Tasting Independence in Beaufortain

June 4, 2021 ARC

In this excerpt from the book “Rural Europe on the Move: A travel guide to transitions”, Philippe Barret tells the story of Beaufortain, a community in the French Alps that has been coming together to practice rural sustainability since the 17th century. Beaufortain also happens to be the home of ARC2020’s project to build rural resilience in France – “Nos campagnes en résilience”. In this chapter you’ll meet some of the key people involved in this latest venture: coordinator Valérie Geslin, volunteer Jeanine Sochas, and farmer Pierre Gachet. […]

France | Building Rural Resilience From The Ground Up

May 3, 2021 Hannes Lorenzen

ARC2020 is launching a new project in France to build rural resilience from the ground up. It’s called “Nos Campagnes En Résilience”. The goal is to empower rural communities to realise their own fair and socio-ecological transitions, by connecting and supporting the many exciting initiatives that are emerging on the ground. Why France? And why now? Hannes Lorenzen explains. […]

UK | How Nature Brought A Family Farm Back To Life

April 23, 2021 Ursula Billington

As the English countryside is gobbled up by monoculture, one family farm is making space for nature. Carymarsh nature reserve is a patchwork of habitats – wetlands, woodlands and feeding grounds for overwintering birds – where people are welcome too. Story by Ursula Billington. […]

Rural Semester as a Tool to Deliver a Truly Holistic Policy for Rural Areas

April 15, 2021 ARC

This paper, written by Marjorie Jouen of the Jacques Delors Institute, has benefitted from inputs and reflections of Marion Eckardt, Maria José Murciano-Sanchez, Michael Schmitz, Francesco Mantino and Hannes Lorenzen expressing themselves in their personal capacity. […]

A Rural Vision is Good – A Strategy and Immediate Action is Better

March 21, 2021 ARC

As the CAP ‘Super Trilogue’ gets underway, the Commission’s Long Term Vision for Rural Areas (LTVRA) process culminates in a week-long conference hosted by the European Network for Rural Development. We at ARC are adamant that CAP reform and the Rural Vision process should not have been kept apart. […]

Navigating In Circles, On Course For 2030!

January 5, 2021 Hannes Lorenzen

Since the turn of the century ARC2020 has been part of the struggle to make European farming, food and rural policies fairer, more resilient and fit for the future. Are we going around in circles, or navigating in circles? Hannes Lorenzen shares some reflections for the year(s) ahead. […]

France | Lessons from Agricultural Archeology

January 3, 2021 Sjoerd Wartena

Since he first set foot in Vachères-en-Quint in La Drôme, France, almost half a century ago, Sjoerd Wartena has followed in the footsteps of the older generation, who taught him how to farm and raise animals in these austere uplands. Still fascinated by the ways of our predecessors, he has taken to tracing the remnants of farming practices indigenous to the area. Here he reflects on what we can learn from past generations and their ability to adapt to harsh conditions. […]

France | Letter To The Next Generation

December 21, 2020 Sjoerd Wartena

Sjoerd Wartena first went “back to nature” almost half a century ago. In this letter to the younger generation he reflects on our relationship with nature and the land, the importance of modelling change, and the role of humility and compassion in giving humanity a second chance. […]

Regional Rural Responses – Reimagined.

December 14, 2020 Alison Brogan

As the pandemic collides with inequality and the ecological emergencies, fresh approaches to building resilient local food economies are emerging. Innovative communities are experimenting with ways to shorten, amplify and democratise supply chains. ARC2020, Cultivate and Forum Synergies came together to organise a webinar where pioneering community-led initiatives operating at the regional level, with the aim of encouraging the replication, scaling up and scaling across of these approaches. […]

CAP | Time for Commission to Get Real on Spending, Say Auditors

November 22, 2020 Louise Kelleher

The EU spends a lot on CAP – almost 40% of its annual budget. But are these billions of euros delivering results? In a new report, the European Court of Auditors find the Commission is “overly optimistic” on the performance of CAP spending and needs to focus on the real impacts. It also confirms that 80% of direct payments are going to 20% of beneficiaries. Louise Kelleher reports. […]

ARC2020 Event | Local Food – Reimagining Regional Responses

November 20, 2020 Alison Brogan

Join us on December 9th at 17:00 CET for a participatory web conference on ‘Local Food – Reimagining Regional Responses’. In partnership with Forum Synergies and Cultivate, ARC2020 is co-organising this online event which will present collaborative approaches to building rural resilience, and consider how we can progress agri-food movements from the local level to the regional. […]

MFF – Increased EU Budget for Biodiversity and More

November 11, 2020 Alison Brogan

Biodiversity, organic farming, young farmers and other areas received a welcome financial boost from the EU institutions on Tuesday (10th November). The European Parliament’s negotiating team and the German Presidency of the Council reached agreement on the forthcoming Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the EU’s budget for 2021 – 2027. […]

A Rural Proofed CAP post 2020? – Analysis of the European Parliament’s Position

November 3, 2020 Matteo Metta

In the aftermath of the European Parliament’s adopted position, we analyse the adopted amendments in relation to the various aspects more relevant to rural development: financial allocation, flexibility between funds, LEADER, Smart Villages, environmental spending, organic farming, decentralization of delivery mechanism, etc. […]