Improved infrastructure, especially in terms of public transport, is among the most pressing needs for rural areas. Farming is seen as the sector contributing the most to rural areas. These are some of the key outcomes of the online public consultation on the Long-term vision for rural areas held between 7 September...

Over 240 videos from the Organic Farm Knowledge Platform are now available on its own YouTube channel organised into six playlists, along with a short introduction video.

The overall objective of FUTUREEUAQUA is to effectively promote the sustainable growth of climate-change resilient, environmentally-friendly organic and conventional aquaculture of major fish species and low trophic level organisms in Europe, to meet future challenges with respect to the growing consumer demand for high quality, nutritious and responsibly produced food....

Today, agricultural systems are facing multiple challenges, including climate change, loss of biodiversity, dwindling resources, degradation of soil and water quality. Agroecology can strengthen the sustainability and resilience of farming systems and thus contribute to addressing these challenges. Based on the premise that Open Innovation Arrangements (OIAs) and in particular...

The Food for Europe podcast is a European podcast series about the food we eat and the farmers who produce it. The first five episodes focus on organic farming, a sector that is at the heart of the EU’s plans for the future of agriculture. The organic sector is a key...

Farming in Europe has been transformed over the last 70 years by policies, technologies and practices that sought to guarantee a stable supply of affordable food. But success has come at the cost of mounting environmental degradation. This CORDIS Results Pack highlights 11 EU-funded research projects that demonstrate the potential...

The European Green Deal (EGD), is designed to be a transformative agenda for Europe at all levels. The application of the Green Deal in rural areas is a necessary and essential part of the transformation and resilience of the EU’s rural future and will define this Commission’s legacy. In this...

This report seeks to provide the countries in the Europe and Central Asia region with an overview and real examples of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) applied to agriculture. This is FAO’s first attempt to present NBS applied to agriculture especially pointed at the countries of this region, prompting the scaling-up of...

Soils are the foundation of our terrestrial ecosystems and soil health is crucial to global food production. In this short video interview with Marc-André Selosse, botanist and mycologist, professor at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, let's discover this complex underground ecosystem on which we depend to feed...

The EU's recently launched Organic Action Plan sets ambitious goals to boost organic food production and raise organic farming in Europe to 25% of all farmland by 2030. The Action Plan will benefit the environment, biodiversity, animal welfare and contribute significantly to achieving the EU's goals set out in the...

Farmland has been on the decline in Europe for years, due to growing urbanisation. The move to protect and increase forest areas has also had an impact, making greenhouse farming more relevant than ever. While greenhouses enable farmers to produce more with less, their warm and moist conditions also allow...

'Valona' o 'Trona' es una construcción circular de piedra seca que rodea el tronco de un árbol para protegerlo del viento y que, además, reporta otros beneficios importantes para los agricultores. Este tipo de construcción abunda en la zona mediterránea de España, en especial en Cataluña y la Comunidad Valenciana,...

COCOREADO, which is inspired by Esperanto for co-creation, is a project designed to rebalance the position of the farmer as an individual actor, as a key player in innovative food supply chains, and as a supplier for public procurement. Based on the multi-actor approach and a deep understanding of Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation...

Biosolarization provides a sustainable, organic method to soil disinfection and control of nematodes, phytoparasitic fungi and weeds in preparation for crop planting. The high temperatures that are produced during the decomposition process in addition to solar radiation create an effect that controls pathogenic microorganisms in the soil. In applying and...

Digital technologies and data-based solutions can help farmers work more precisely, efficiently, and sustainably, improving decision-making and farming practices, and helping increase farm’s environmental performance and competitiveness, whilst also making farming jobs more attractive to younger generations. Collaborative data sharing models play a key role in ensuring that data driven...

This paper examines agroecology within Europe, its dynamics, its position within a broader politico-economic framework and its political significance. It argues that agroecology is contesting and, at least in some places, effectively changing the main social relations of production in today’s agriculture. In this respect, it has a strategically important...

As announced in its Communication on the European Green Deal, the Commission is developing a new (post 2021) EU forest strategy. The strategy will build on the EU’s 2030 biodiversity strategy, cover the whole forest cycle and promote the many services that forests provide. The strategy will also be aimed...

Food is fundamental to health and social participation, yet food poverty has increased in the global North. Adopting a realist ontology and taking a comparative case approach, Families and Food in Hard Times addresses the global problem of economic retrenchment and how those most affected are those with the least resources.   Based on...

Romanian National Rural Development Network Newsletter - Topics include: EU AgriFish Council of 26-27 May, LIAISON project: EURIC; LAGs Good practices, Local Gastronomic Points, Training for LAGs and other topics.    

An economy that puts people and the planet first is highly relevant to rural areas, where it can improve access to basic services, create jobs and foster social inclusion while promoting the digital and green transition. This edition of the EU Rural Review explores the main features of the social economy, highlighting...