Farms are the basic organisational unit for agricultural production. How many farms are there in the EU and how has their number changed in recent years? Are they becoming bigger and more specialised? And what about the farmers who take production decisions and receive CAP payments – what do we...

Young farmers are now at the heart of Europe’s common agricultural policy. This is one of the greatest achievements of the reform which was adopted in 2013. The European Union has put in place a strong tool — a modern and forward-looking agricultural policy — which will apply all across...

The total organic area in the EU-28 (i.e. the area fully converted to organic production and area under conversion) was 10.3 million hectares (ha) in 2014 and continues to show an upward trend. The increase in area between 2013 and 2014 was 2.3 %, compared with +0.2 % between 2012...

Bringing farmers and consumers closer together, short supply chains can take many forms. All over Europe, the term covers a range of direct selling, from selling on the farm, at farmers’ markets, or via the internet. Often characterised by personal contact between the producer and the customer, they also offer...

This brief provides a first overview of the production costs, margins and incomes of EU farms specialised in cereal production based on the latest available data (to 2012) from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). Trends from 2004 to 2012 are provided for EU common wheat, durum wheat, grain maize...

Milk and dairy products have been part of the cultural gastronomic heritage of the Mediterranean for thousands of years. If Mediterranean cheeses are mouth-watering for the entire world, they also represent a vital economy for all producer countries. This Watch Letter aims at providing an overview of a sector of...

In the „Land Rights Campaign“ Eco Ruralis exposes the impact of land grabbing in Romania regarding large-scale land investments through documentation and analysis. This work contributes to awareness rising about this problem across the entire society. First of all, we aim to disseminate the information to our members – Romanian peasants – and...

The year 2014 has been a momentous year for the common agricultural policy (CAP) and for agricultural trade relations with our partner countries in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states. We have seen the beginning of the implementation of the CAP reform and successfully concluded economic partnership...

The agricultural markets and their prices have evolved substantially during the last decade. World trade in agricultural goods has soared from the combined influence of strong population growth, changing diets and increasing income levels in developing countries.

The rising demand for agricultural products, combined with the need to protect the environment, has put pressure on the EU executive to find “innovative” ways in the farming sector. Several stakeholders claim that introducing new technologies in EU farming would help the sector address this challenge.

The new Common Agricultural Policy for the period 2014-2020 is expected to provide nearly 180,000 young farmers with an installation grant, an EU spokesman has told EurActiv.

The story of the organic movement started with the determination of farmers and consumers who wanted a different way to farm and consume than that offered by the “new modern agriculture”. Inspired by visionary thinkers such as Rudolf Steiner, Sir Albert Howard, Masanobu Fukuoka, Lady Eve Balfour, Bhaskar Save and...

Dozens of civil society groups reunited at the end of 2014, to initiate discussions on short food chains. The purpose of the first meetings was to start drafting a suitable concept for short food chains policies. Among other topics discussed were the establishment of partnerships, initiatives and specific advantages of...

A gathering of 240 people representing rural communities from 40 European countries, meeting at the second European Rural Parliament yesterday, approved an ambitious European Rural Manifesto. It called for full recognition of the right of rural communities to a quality of life and standard of living equal to that of...

In line with the EU2020 strategy for a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, the overall Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) objectives offer a holistic and integrated approach to policy support during the 2014-2020 programming period. In addition, a common and coherent overall EU policy framework is established for all European Structural and...

Discarding was considered by the European Commission a serious problem in European fisheries and one which must be addressed as a high priority. The aim of the present study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the discard problem on small-scale fisheries in Europe in order to put forward recommendations...

The analysis of survey responses shows that young farmers have different expectations and needs, depending on the region in which they live, the agricultural sector in which they work (intensive, extensive), their level of education, their relation to the farm (owner of the farm or not) etc. This study revealed...

It is interesting to see how the preference of the EU for a safety net targeting income more than prices has impacted upon EU’s agriculture by focusing on three sectors that were reformed over different periods, but concern production in all Member States.

Like in many other parts of the world, the Netherlands is a country with two realities. On the one hand, for decades policies have been pushing for further industrialisation of agriculture and food. Many farmers find themselves squeezed between the demands of suppliers and supermarkets, and a large number of...

Статья посвящена эволюции и классификации фермерских хозяйств. Акцент сделан на семейных фермерских хозяйствах как главной форме организации сельскохозяйственных предприятий на территории Европы и Юго-Восточной Азии. В процессе исследования были использованы общенаучные и специальные методы: анализ, синтез, экономико-статистический и другие. В результате были развиты теоретические положения, уточняющие сущность крестьянского (фермерского) хозяйства,...