The EU Forest Strategy is based on the principle of subsidiarity. It aims at establishing a framework for forest-related actions in support of sustainable forest management, based on the coordination of the forest policies and initiatives relevant to forests and to the forest-based sector.

The seminar "Structural realities in EU agriculture: Does farm size matter?" focuses on the recent structural developments in the EU agricultural sector and its implications for the competitiveness and sustainability of the EU agri-food sector and its rural areas. The workshop will provide information and allow sharing experiences that could be...

The European Union has agreed that by 2015 where possible and by 2020 at the latest all fish stocks should be exploited at a level that will let them produce the maximum sustainable yield for the long term (MSY). This means taking the highest catches possible without affecting future productivity...

The Rural Development Programme (RDP) for Hungary was formally adopted by the European Commission on 10 August 2015, outlining Hungary's priorities for using the € 4.2 billion of public money that is available for the 7-year period 2014-2020 (€ 3.4 billion from the EU budget and € 740 million of...

The aim of the conference is to present the needs of young farmers, provide an overview of existing exchange schemes for young farmers throughout EU 28, and also outside Europe, and launch the guide for successful exchange schemes, which has been produced as part of the study. The conference is aimed...

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...

Documentaries on the Best Practices in Rural Development carried out by young farmers that have been granted support under EU Rural development policies.

In Romania, the transition to a market economy meant a change in the relationship between the users of land resources (who became land owners) and the resource (the agricultural land, the operation of which was divided among the new owners). In the last quarter of a century, the rural areas...

More than 90 per cent of Italian farms have a usable agricultural area of less than 9 ha, even if over time there has been a growth of the average agricultural area per farm as a consequence of rural out-migration. This paper compares, using a nonparametric model, the technical efficiency...

Under the scope of the a4a Initiative, the JRC is promoting cooperative activities between fisheries scientists with the aim to test, disseminate and promote a4a methods. These Small Research Projects (SRP) focus on comparing the results of assessments from other models to assessments obtained from the a4a statistical catch-at-age model,...

The world’s growing population has resulted in rising demand for agricultural products. But, at the same time supply capabilities are shrinking due to reduced land availability and climate change. Analysts claim that an “agri-tech revolution” is needed and precision farming is emerging as an innovation driven solution. Precision farming is...

These guidelines were created within the frame of a project called ‘Building Regional Produce Supply Chains: Logistics for Short Circuit Agriculture’. The document provides training material for use by anyone providing training in AFDS (Alternative Food Distribution Systems) or anyone eager to learn about organising logistics for local food systems....

Key elements of FAO’s work in Europe and Central Asia – combating land and soil degradation, addressing the needs of family farms, boosting nutrition through agriculture, and studying rural people’s access to social protection schemes – were affirmed by the Organization’s members this week. The 39th session of the European...

In an effort to help EU farming adjust to future nutritional needs, the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the period 2014-2020 aims at bridging the existing gap between research and farming practice.

Rural development in the European Union is part of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and it is a vitally important policy area: over 56 % of the population in European Union (EU) Member States lives in rural areas, which cover 91 % of the territory. The EU has 500 million...

The new Common Agricultural Policy for 2014-2020 prioritises innovation in order to help the sector adapt to the new competitive environment, and promote “greener” policies. In a recent interview with EurActiv, Phil Hogan, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, talked about an “Agri-tech revolution” and the use of advanced ICT...

An international film festival in the Slovak Republic bucks that stereotype, bringing agricultural production into cinemas and making it understandable and entertaining for everyone. Now in its 31st year, Agrofilm provides an opportunity to see feature films, documentaries and short videos on agriculture, rural development and nutrition topics. Audiences gain insights...

Global population is expected to rise from 7.3 billion today to 9.7 billion in 2050, according to UN projections, meaning food production will have to double to meet nutritional needs. In an effort to rise to this challenge, the new CAP for the period 2014-2020 is focused on innovation as...

Local development in EU coastal and fisheries areas is entering a new and exciting period. The implementation of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) present new challenges and new opportunities for coastal and fisheries communities. Greater coordination between the European Structural and...

The new CAP includes a “crisis reserve”, which can be drawn on in case of need. Worth roughly a noncumulative €400 million a year, the reserve is financed by the cut of Direct Payments exceeding the €2,000 per year threshold. For this very reason though, the institutions are unwilling to...