On Wednesday, 20 September 2023, the Committee on Fisheries held a public hearing entitled "The importance of fisheries and aquaculture for rural areas". The objective of this hearing is to listen to various stakeholders on what is important to them when it comes to fisheries and aquaculture in rural areas. Fisheries...

Germany’s agriculture ministry is pushing for more organic food in canteens and restaurants in a first step towards achieving the coalition’s 2030 goal of ensuring 30% of arable land is dedicated to organic farming. At the end of 2021, Germany’s government coalition agreed that organic farming should account for 30% of arable land...

Legume-supported cropping systems affect environmental, production, and economic impacts. In Europe, legume production is still marginal with grain legumes covering less than 3% of arable land. A transition towards legume-supported systems could contribute to a higher level of protein self-sufficiency and lower environmental impacts of agriculture. Suitable approaches for designing...

In order to bridge the knowledge-gap between sustainability awareness and the old world winegrowing culture, this research explores and analyses perceptions of key individuals in Portuguese wine industry regarding sustainability issues, uncovering intercultural trends, expectations and tensions. A grounded theory approach was used on collected nationwide data from semi-structured interviews...

Grafting of tomatoes has the potential to increase tomato seed production under organic conditions. Grafting means to combine the positive characteristics of a rootstock (e.g., increased vigour, resistances to soil-borne diseases) with the positive characteristics (e.g., fruit quality, taste) of the upper part of the plant (scion). We compared the...

In this video, Gilles Libourel from GRAB describes the challenges with rootstocks. Julia Frézel explains the criteria for choosing fruit varieties at Ferme de la Durette.

A vibrant tapestry of life and landscapes, Europe’s rural areas provide us with our food, homes, jobs, and essential ecosystems services. To ensure that rural areas can continue to play these essential roles, a European Commission communication sets out a long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas up to 2040. It identifies...

As part of the RISE ATTER project, consortium partners co-designed and delivered a 7-day event at Monkton Wyld Court in Dorset, UK. This is the first of three summer/autumn schools planned to take place over the course of the ATTER project. The main objective of this week-long collective space was...

Both climate change and biodiversity loss have distorting social and economic impacts on development and cause severe risks for food security, nutrition and livelihoods among rural populations in Europe and Central Asia, most of whom depend directly or indirectly on the agricultural sector. The mutually reinforcing and complex nature of...

The IFOAM Organics Europe team is closely monitoring the many legislative initiatives being launched as part of the Farm to Fork strategy. We are committed to providing political and technical input on behalf of the organic sector and movement. The feedback, the experience and knowledge of our members are key...

Several pathogens are associated with sooty mold, which varies from season to season. Dark spots appear on the surface as a result of the damage. During storage the spots can increase in size. In this video, we show you the control strategies that are used in organic apple cultivation against...

Crop diversification (CD) encompasses practices such as extending crop rotation, cover cropping and intercropping practices, and growing minor crops. It has attracted increasing interest because it can produce both private benefits for farmers, including improved crop and soil health, and reduced inputs, and public goods for society, including greater biodiversity,...

Faced with changes in society, climate and geopolitics, we are all vulnerable. This vulnerability calls for ongoing adaptation, questioning of how we work and how we live. For rural territories, quality of life is a lever for development. Rural society is imagining new ways of functioning, in which every person...

In addition to the guidelines, there are links to videos from Danish organic orchards. Rules and regulations regarding fertilizer and plant protection are subject to change, and recommendations in the guidelines should be ascertained within the rules before applying. The guidelines are targeted at organic orchard owners, but private gardeners...

The impacts of chemical pesticides on the environment, including biodiversity, water, air and soil, and on human health, have become a major concern for civil society and consumers. They are also a major issue for the sustainability of agricultural systems. Recently, the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity European strategies set...

Fruit grower Clemens Köster and consultant Bastian Benduhn (Öko-Obstbau Norddeutschland) present measures to increase biodiversity in organic orchards. 00:00 Introduction 00:22 Flowering strips 01:38 Hedges 02:27 Anchor plants

In this video, Clémence from FiBL Switzerland in Frick explains the advantages and disadvantages of covering stone fruit orchards and presents two different weather protection systems for apricot growing in Switzerland.

Environmental policy integration (EPI), that is, the incorporation of environmental concerns in non-environmental policy areas, has been widely adopted in public policies. However, EPI research has found much discrepancy between environmental objectives and actual implementation. This paper argues that analyzing EPI in the context of policy mixes with multiple objectives,...

SHARING KNOWLEDGE FOR STRONGER AGROECOLOGY MOVEMENT IN EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA AGROECOLOGY SCHOOLS’ TOOLKIT: THURSDAY DIALOGUES IN 2023. This knowledge-sharing series is a part of the project Sharing knowledge for a stronger agroecology movement in Europe and Central Asia (ECA), supported by Agroecology Fund. It is hosted for and by the ECA Community of Practice...

The EU CAP Network workshop ‘Animal welfare and innovation’ will focus on exchanging innovative practices and practical knowledge on animal welfare, especially on: Cage-free production systems Animal welfare indicators and monitoring methods for practical use on the farm Meeting societal demands: Animal welfare labelling and certification The event will welcome farmers, advisors, projects and initiatives related...