Operational Groups can include partners from very different backgrounds such as farmers, foresters, advisers, researchers, industry representatives and more. 'Innovation support services', and in particular 'innovation brokering', can play a crucial role in getting worthwhile projects off the ground by bringing people together. Many individuals and organisations across Europe are offering...

The Organic Agriculture Support Initiative (OASI), a project funded by the European Union and co-funded and implemented by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), the operational unit of the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC), aims at further developing organic agriculture in Armenia. The initial success of the organic products on domestic and...

Pociūnėliai is a small town in Šiauliai County, Lithuania. In recent years its population has been decreasing as young people are leaving for the city and businesses have declined. Men typically work in the farming or forestry sector doing physical labour. The women however have very limited work opportunities. The...

Birch sap tapping is an ancient tradition in Finland. There are many Finnish folk tales about the extraction of birch sap and it is believed to have medicinal properties. At exactly the right moment at the beginning of spring, a small hole is drilled into the tree trunk and this...

This report is the result of the work of the EIP AGRI Focus Group (FG) on Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs) and more specifically on how landscape features (LFs) contribute to the profitability of arable crop production. The scientific literature shows that LFs provide habitats for beneficial insects and other arthropods,...

Activité vitale de par sa fonction nutritive, l’agriculture a un rôle déterminant en termes économiques, sociaux et environnementaux. Elle continue également d’être un facteur stratégique de la stabilité géopolitique du monde. Très exposée aux chocs météorologiques et aux catastrophes naturelles, l’agriculture doit cependant accroître sa productivité tout en réduisant son...

The thematic group on Smart Competitive Rural Areas covered three meetings and a final Seminar, starting in September 2015 and concluding in May 2016 The first meeting and subsequent feedback from stakeholders including the European Commission, Rural Networks Assembly, Steering Group and NRN, NSU and MA feedback and other partners...

Со времени последних совещаний региональных конференций КВПБ провел две пленарные сессии. В соответствии со своей ролью в согласовании политики на глобальном уровне КВПБ одобрил Принципы ответственного инвестирования в сельское хозяйство и продовольственные системы (ОИСХ – КВПБ) и Рамочную программу действий по обеспечению продовольственной безопасности и питания в условиях затяжных кризисов...

A young Latvian entrepreneur, Krists Ēberliņš, was seeking ways to improve the competitiveness of his apiary. Specifically, he wanted to improve his production processes and at the same time diversify the range of products he could sell. EAFRD support enabled the young entrepreneur to buy new equipment and machinery. These included machinery...

A two-day FAO workshop starting here today is designed to help circulate the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests with the help of civil society organizations. With institutions from about 20 countries in Europe and Central Asia sending representatives, the event should boost...

Exactly 20 years after the ground-breaking European Conference on Rural Development in Cork, which concluded with the signing of theCork Declaration on Rural Development, EU Commissioner for Agriculture & Rural Development Phil Hogan is pleased to announce that the European Commission is organising a second European Conference on Rural Development...

his video shows an example of CAP investment leading to innovation, jobs and modernisation at a dairy farm in Lappträsk, northern Sweden. It is made from the DG AGRI video - The Common Agricultural Policy "On the ground...” (2013).

This video shows an example of where CAP support simplified innovation and clean energy investments at a horticulture farm in Venlo, Netherlands. It is made from the DG AGRI video - The Common Agricultural Policy "On the ground...” (2013).

The Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge 2 Programme was created to develop and implement an EU research and innovation policy for more sustainable and resource efficient agriculture, forestry, inland water and marine systems that supply European society with sufficient food, feed, biomass, and other raw materials, as well as ecosystems services,...

Biohuhn is an Operational Group (OG) looking into innovative uses for laying hens at the end of their productive life. They are developing new, local food products from this organic meat to provide extra income for farmers, reduce environmental impact and improve animal welfare. This OG brings together six organic hen farms,...

The EIP-AGRI Focus Group on High Nature Value (HNV) – Farming Profitability brought together 20 experts from 15 EU Member States and a diverse range of backgrounds. They explored the potential for making effective use of the EIP-AGRI to improve the long-term viability of High Nature Value (HNV) farming systems...

The Conference aims to bring together 250 or so stakeholders in order to discuss current and future challenges of farming and rural areas, as well as potential policy responses. The Commission will start inviting policy makers, NGOs, members of academia and other interested parties in the coming weeks.  

This video includes two projects (in Ireland and the Netherlands) using result-based systems for agriculture.

Lack of cooperative spirit is a common challenge in rural areas. The same applies to Lower Silesia, Poland, where different cultures and identities co-exist like the German, the Czech, etc. However, the distinct culture and traditions of the area and the range of local niche products, provide significant opportunities for...

In the period to 2020, the CAP is going to invest more than EUR 8 billion1 in Portugal's farming sector and rural areas. Key political priorities have been fined at European level such as: jobs and growth, sustainability, modernisation, innovation and quality. At the same time, Portugal has flexibility to...