The report describes the outcome of a Commission’s two-year project looking at Member States’ approach to ensuring animal welfare on farm. The project explored their use of quality management systems for official controls, their use of animal welfare indicators for measuring the extent and seriousness of animal welfare problems and...

Sustainable, ecological approaches to European farming, the heart of the European Green Deal, are needed to safeguard food supplies for EU citizens and protect the long-term livelihoods of rural communities. The emergence of more support for organic systems as a form of agro-ecological production can help address these policy challenges...

This manual presents the second version of the EU-wide individual farm level model IFM-CAP which has been developed to assess the economics and environmental impacts of the CAP and related policies, such as the Strategies embedded in the European Green Deal. The rationale for such a farm-level model is based...

The Sámi people inhabit the region of Sámi, which incorporates most of northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland as well as parts of North-western Russia. The Sámi have their own traditional food culture which was not well known to the public kitchens of Sweden’s Sámi region, where many Sámi live and...

Nearly half of Europeans think that securing a stable supply of food in the EU at all times should be a main objective of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) according to the latest Eurobarometer on agriculture and the CAP published today. In addition, more than half of respondents (55%) think...

This document is the second of two. It explains the methodology of the indicator system in detail and guides the evaluator on how to assign a value to each criterion, conduct the assessment and interpret the results. The first document introduces the system of indicators and describes its principles.

This study presents the concepts and methods of farm certification schemes and provides information on the main existing schemes in the EU and in third countries. It analyses how these schemes can help the EU reach its sustainability objectives in the farming sector and be instrumental in the implementation and...

In Cuba, food security is still a challenge after years of wars to fight against colonialism, imperialism and climate change. Yet, the island is far beyond the European Green Deal objectives, having largely achieved most of the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity targets that the EU aspires to attain by 2030....

Food systems require urgent and profound transformation to become sustainable, both in Europe and worldwide. Social innovation plays a pivotal role in transforming today’s food systems into ones that are economically and socially feasible, and sustainable within planetary boundaries. This briefing presents the results of a systematic examination of emerging...

Ireland’s agricultural sector has specialised towards the export of dairy products and beef, mainly to the UK and the EU. At the same time, domestic consumers are now reliant on food imports. Recent global events have nonetheless raised the question of whether Ireland should be producing more foods for the domestic...

Carbon farming refers to sequestering and storing carbon and/or reducing greenhouse gas emissions at farm level. It offers significant but uncertain mitigation potential in the EU, can deliver co-benefits to farmers and society, but also carries risks that need to be managed. The report identifies opportunities and constraints for carbon...

Kat Sharp from Achpopuli Farm shares her experience as a participant in a farmer-led project focussing on anthelmintic use reduction. Find out more about worm control without anthelmintics : https://www.soilassociation.org/farme... Part of our work with RELACS EU, looking at reducing contentious inputs in organic farming. Music: "Little idea" from Bensound.com...

This article is about informing the debate. The information in it has long been needed. It is, however, still superficial and no more than a snapshot. It has also required the author to resort to available ‘standard’ farm management data to make predictions. The information it contains is, therefore, only...

Part two of four from Stuart Meikle on Ireland, food security and feed(ing) the world delves into the relationship Britain and Ireland have with each other  -the two main islands of the archipelago referred to in the article’s title. Part one (see below) focused on Ireland, food security and nitrogen...

In these challenging times ‘food security’ has returned to the agenda in what was assumed to be the well-fed countries of the World. That includes in Ireland, even though it is ranked first in the Economist’s Global Food Security Index. To inform this debate ARC2020 will present an article series ...

Long lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic offered us a reminder of the restorative power of nature for the body and mind. Yet, reconnecting people with nature, particularly in cities, has been the focus of several European research projects since well before the outbreak of COVID-19 almost three years ago.These projects...

  RNDR August Newsletter Topics include: call for experts for EIP AGRI Focus Groups;ongoing calls for projects [sM 19.3 b)+17.1]; MARDMRID&agri highschools; Online LEADER Workgroup;Massif committees meeting and other more

On the occasion of the Conference on the Future of Europe, CEJA and Rural Youth Europe are joining forces to make the voices of rural youth and young farmers heard. Here is Pierre, a young farmer from Luxembourg, giving his perspective on the future of the EU. The future of...

To enhance the visibility of women and their role in rural areas and to support efforts that may overcome major structural challenges that disempower women and discriminate against them, CREA – Centre for Policy and Bioeconomy, as part of the National Rural Network, is holding a series of meetings on...

Following an intense week with a symposium in which 105 scientists participated and a session with 15 Member countries, the European Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Advisory Commission (EIFAAC)adopted for the first time resolutions and recommendations on inland fisheries and aquaculture. These included four resolutions on the Code of Conduct for Recreational...