IIED's climate change newsletter is sent out every two months to keep you updated on our research to shape development policy and practice for climate resilience, equitable global governance and locally led adaptation to climate change.In this edition we invite you to join us for the launch of the Anticipatory...

Exploring Georgia’s gastronomy offers tourists unique insights into the country and its culture.   Enriching tourists’ experiences also has the potential to attract more visitors which can generate vital income in rural communities.   The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are...

Despite the acknowledged benefits of crop diversification, the transition towards more diversified cropping systems needs to be supported, mainly due to socio-technical lock-ins favoring major dominant crop species. This calls for the development of new approaches to support the design of locally tailored diversified cropping systems. This paper aims to...

In a new CAP that largely maintains the status quo, social conditionality emerges as one of the few truly innovative elements. But is it going to be a real game-changer? This new legislative tool has the potential to improve the working conditions of millions of farm workers. But does it...

The Access to Land Network is releasing a new handbook to provide guidance for officials and staff of local governments on how to make a difference in the way agricultural land is used and shared, for the benefit of people and the planet. Local action is key to a regenerative future....

 TNC partnerships help communities achieve results that they could not have achieved by working alone. The LEADER TNC project ‘Living Museums’ shows how this works in practice. LAGs use their transnational cooperation (TNC) funds to help local communities learn from peers in different areas and countries about new ways of developing...

Food security has different dimensions: availability, access, stability over time, and utilisation2. In the current European context, only accessibility and stability are of concern. Food supply or availability is not at stake in the EU despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, but soaring food prices mean low-income households struggle to...

European Research and Innovation Days is the European Commission’s annual flagship Research and Innovation event, bringing together policymakers, researchers, entrepreneurs and the public to debate and shape the future of research and innovation in Europe and beyond. 2022 was the fourth edition. The event took place on 28 and 29...

LEADER has a long track record in successfully supporting new collaborative initiatives through agri-food projects aimed at strengthening the resilience of rural Europe’s economy. Collective action is a core concept of LEADER and LAGs have a strong track record in successfully supporting new community-led collaborative agri-food initiatives aimed at strengthening the...

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...

The objective of this technical study was to identify the main trends and practices for the allocation of marine space for the development of aquaculture across the EU, within the Maritime Spatial Plans (MSPs) produced to date. Based on consultation with EU Member States, the study presents the main enablers,...

Irish LEADER support for the Water Biodiversity Training Programme for the Duhallow Communities project acted as a catalyst in helping local authorities design popular and productive environmental actions attracting larger sources of funding. LEADER is good at building social capacity in rural community organisations that can be directed to develop and...

This report describes the rationale for a series of common and broadly accepted soil health indicators to support policy. The focus is on soil threats, and indicators were selected in view of their appropriateness for assessing the condition of soil, its degradation, its resilience and its valuable services. For each...

Organic vegetables, carefully grown and harvested just 30km from Bucharest (Romania), delivered to consumers in the city on the very day they are picked. ‘bio&co’ farm applies an inspiring social farming model, creating jobs for disadvantaged people in the local area, “The human being is at the centre of everything...

The Good Food Good Farming (GFGF) movement, of which Slow Food is an active member, is launching a campaign to defend and promote the urgent need for Europe to transition towards sustainable food systems. Next September, the European Commission will propose a Sustainable Food systems Law, which could be a game-changer for...

Organic mixed livestock farming offers a range of potential benefits for the environment. Due to the diversification of enterprises, this farming system can be associated with a high workload, which means that it could be socially unsustainable. The aim of this study was to understand and explain work satisfaction of farmers...

Organic farming delivers multiple benefits for the climate and biodiversity, including increased carbon sequestration in soils, lower energy input, 30% more on-farm biodiversity and increased resilience of the farming system. These are highlighted in a document on the benefits of organic farming published by IFOAM Organics Europe. Transforming how we...

Biodiversity protection and well-functioning ecosystems are essential for food production. But the Commission’s proposal on a nature restoration law has faced unjustified opposition when it comes to setting restoration targets for agricultural ecosystems. The organic movement calls on MEPs to support ambitious nature restoration on agriculture land as well preserved...

The EIP-AGRI Support Facility supports the CAP goals for social sustainability in agriculture, forestry and rural areas. Keep an eye out for an upcoming brochure on social innovation, results from the Focus Group ‘Social farming and innovations’ or see the outcomes from the EIP-AGRI seminar on (social) innovation in EU...

73 projects have been funded under the Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call including 17 projects on climate change and biodiversity and 15 on food and health. The Green Deal Projects Support Office facilitates collaboration between the projects and supports the sharing of best practices, events and other results. Find out more