The EU Forestry Strategy was adopted in 1998, following a Resolution of the European Parliament calling for the Commission to put forward a proposal for such a strategy and a Communication from the Commission which highlighted the challenges facing the EU forests, the policy and legal framework for forests and...

A short film giving a glimpse of the beautiful School Farm Site and a little insight into our hopes and dreams for the land. Don't be deceived though! Perhaps we should have included some footage on a really muddy, wet, cold day of the hard work which goes on to keep...

12 million farms, 172 million hectares of agricultural land, 25 million people involved in agricultural production – these are some of the key data for the EU farming sector in 2010; but what about the situation of individual farms and how do things differ between Member States and as compared...

Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) have established in parallel to conventional food chains, playing a key role in the emerging food networks that are continuously arising as an alternative to the globalized agri-food model. The diversities and particularities of the experiences existing all over the world (box schemes, farmers’ markets,...

Looks at solidarity purchasing groups (Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale, GAS) in Rome as an example of sustainable food consumption.

Rural development support from the European Union is governed by REGULATION (EU) No 1305/2013 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 17 December 2013on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005, which is implemented into...

The Farm Structure Survey 2013 was conducted during autumn 2013 as a sample survey. The aim of the survey is to obtain detailed and complex information on the whole scale of the Czech agriculture, i.e. its size, structure and development of agricultural holdings, about their equipment, specialisation of their production...

Agro-food chain is the only chain in the economy that can bring together and integrate numerous of economic activities, can connect hundreds of local enterprises with thousands consumers and producers, offering a unique opportunity to rural development, which consequently can reinvigorate the region’s economy and the whole national economy. Rural...

Dairy farmer from Kilkenny, Bill O'Keeffe, who writes for the Irish Farmers Journal is interviewed on farm by Bryan Hynes.

Pastoralism has a high historical and cultural background in Corsica as in many other Mediterranean countries. But for many actors, it is mainly seen as an idealistic image to sell local products with few clear references to real technical and global pastoral systems. Defining a renewed pastoralism in relation to...

There are around 12 million farms/holdings in the European Union with an average size of 14.2 hectares. The vast majority of these farms are family farms which are operated as family-run businesses in which the farm is passed down from generation to generation (see diagram). One indication of the importance...

This report is the result of the Focus Group (FG) on Organic Farming, Optimising Arable Yields which was launched under the European Innovation Partnership (EIP-AGRI) 'Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability'. The Focus Group brought together 20 experts with different backgrounds and experiences (scientists, farmers, advisers…) to make recommendations on transferable innovative...

The concept of family farming covers various elements. From a sociological perspective, family farming is associated with family values, such as solidarity, continuity and commitment; in economic terms, family farming is identified with specific entrepreneurial skills, business ownership and management, choice and risk behaviour, resilience and individual achievement.

Prepared by the European Union institutions a new financial and task perspective, the same as economic reform raises hopes, anxieties and even social emotions. Each time it is, especially for its potential beneficiaries, a new playing field for privileges, institutional economic benefits, as well as hopes for strengthening their position...

With a view to making the mountain products on the market more clearly identifiable and less misleading for consumers, the EU institutions legislated on a common definition of an optional quality term, 'mountain product', in the labelling of agricultural products. The term 'mountain product' should only be used for products...

Small farmers always represented a characteristic of the Romanian rural milieu, playing a determinant part in maintaining the local vivacity, in developing the regional economy and, most important, in keeping traditions and a unique ethno cultural specificity. The communist era represented a profound destructive experience, when villages vanished as communities...

The Art of Dar combines the highest quality Transylvanian foods and crafts. It has successfully used a news story, provoking media interest, to raise the profile of Transylvanian products in general and it was created as an innovative way of found raising.  The product line was launched at the SIAL global...

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

A young farmer from Lithuania talks about her funding support from the Rural Development Programme and what difference this assistance has made to her business.

After three years of recovery, the EU-28 real agricultural income per labour unit decreased in 2013 by 1.3% year-on-year driven by declines in both factor income and agricultural labour force (-2.1% and -0.9%, respectively). The agricultural income varies significantly across the European Union: the highest increases are estimated in the...