Documenting and analyzing the development of agroecology in different countries and context is important to enhance and out-scaling of agroecology at the European level. Based on the AE4EU project (Agroecology for Europe https://www.ae4eu.eu), a mapping of agroecology in Austria and Germany in its different dimensions was achieved to provide an...

Andrea Battiata is an Italian organic farmer. He has developed an alternative type of farming, which restores nutrients to the soil, sequesters CO2, is more resilient to climate change, and mimics what happens in nature, particularly in forests. His CSA provides vegetables to 100 families. Watch his story.

Ana Paula Gama is a Portuguese fruit producer, who joined the Operational Group 'PoliMax' to promote and increase the efficiency of insect pollination in apple, pear and cherry trees. It helped her a lot.

There is a high demand for high-quality honey and other bee products in the EU. Large quantities of honey are imported from outside the EU whose quality and origin can be questionable. There are countries in the EU with a diverse agricultural structure favourable for beekeeping, particularly in Poland and...

The new Common Agricultural Policy, the CAP, comes into force from January the 1st next year. It’s one of the biggest, most important, longest-lasting – and often the most incendiary – of EU programmes. Co-financing and complementary national financing will bring the total public budget dedicated to farmers and rural...

The European Commission launched the European CAP Network during an event in Brussels on 6 October. Around 320 CAP stakeholders (e.g. EU Member State administrations, farmers, national rural networks, researchers, advisors, NGOs), all of whom share an interest in and commitment to sustainable agriculture, forestry and rural development across the EU, attended.   ...

Few of us let a day go by without enjoying European fruit and vegetables at our table. The EU’s production of fruit and veg is at the core of its Common Agricultural Policy: as well as feeding Europeans, it’s exported far and wide beyond the single market. For the episode of...

Un projet de développement et de promotion de l’agroécologie pour les femmes Nous créons un écolieu sur le territoire de la Métropole de Lyon, à Saint-Didier-au-Mont-d’Or qui sera : Une ferme polyvalente d’insertion, d’apprentissage et de production en agroécologie (maraîchage, fruits et production de pains bio) Un tiers-lieu nourricier : espace ouvert de rencontres...

With around 70 per cent of Europe’s soils in poor health, the European Union has launched the EU Soil Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ to reverse this deterioration and make soils more sustainable across the continent. The European Commission’s effort to coordinate this vital work recognises soil as the essential...

As Europe's rural population ages and diminishes in size, Food for Europe looks at the EU's Long Term Vision for Rural Areas. The EU spends around a third of its budget to support farming, but agriculture is just one of many elements that must be present for rural communities to thrive....

gricultural land accounts for approximately 40% of the total Natura 2000 (N2K) network area. Therefore, many habitats and species protected under the Habitats and Birds Directives are dependent on or linked to agricultural practices. This implies that sustaining agriculture of a high natural value is a priority in achieving the...

Organic farming is a farming method that uses natural substances and processes to produce food. This means that organic farming has a low environmental impact. In accordance with the EU regulation for organic production, it is very restrictive on the use of different synthetic products and prohibits the use of...

Episode 18 of Food for Europe takes a long look at agriculture in the Czech Republic, following its assumption of the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. Like all EU member states, Czechia is trapped in a storm of events outside its control, with farmers badly hit...

The LIFE Olivares Vivos project developed an innovative model of olive growing that can be used elsewhere in Europe. Olive groves extend over nearly five million hectares of the EU. One of the main crops in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain, with nearly 1.9 million olive farms, the olive sector is...

This study focuses on how we can effectively maintain and enhance forest biodiversity in Europe. It looks at what is at stake, the current external and internal threats to forest biodiversity and makes recommendations for how we should respond – both in terms of forest management, and also in terms...

Agriculture is embedded in and interacts with both its ecological and social environments. Under the concept of ‘Multifunctional Agriculture’, these interactions receive attention from scientific and political communities in terms of societal functions that can be fulfilled by farms. The discourse has focused on ecological functions, while agriculture’s social contributions...

Agriculture needs to adapt to climate change to ensure food security. Agroforestry systems could help make farms more resilient, but they only constitute a fraction of farming in Europe. Is it time for change?

The past months were exciting for the ALL-Ready project and we have been working hard to prepare the future network of Agroecology Living Labs and Research Infrastructures. We are pleased to give you some insights on the project’s activities in this second edition of the ALL-Ready newsletter. Our recent activities...

Family farms’ support by legislative measures should be a crucial step for EU countries to ensure food security and a healthy environment in Europe. Therefore, the International conference - Increasing legislative support for family farms in the EU focuses on Family Farm Legislation and family farm policy at the EU member states’ level.

For many years, organic farming was and still is based on the use of the plow as the main tool for cultivating the soil. Plowing brings a considerable number of benefits to farmers, such as soil loosening and a phytosanitary effect - the regulation of diseases and pests as well as...