Today’s agricultural policy is barely recognisable. Not only has the CAP been vastly simplified with the amalgamation of an array of different direct payment schemes into a single farm payment, it is also a more efficient mechanism, meeting more objectives at a lower cost. A policy that once ate up...

The benefits of mixed methods are well recognised. Using mixed methods, researchers are able to overcome shortcomings inherent in individual methods while enhancing the validity and reliability of their research findings. Mixed methods are commonly used in cross-sectional studies – to answer research questions, and/or explore contemporary social issues. However,...

Special hard cover edition! Food is a very important part of many European citizens' lives. It brings family and friends together around the table to talk, laugh and celebrate and in many places, food goes hand in hand with the local culture. Not only is food a hugely important part...

In the villages of Samrong Tong, district of Kampong Speu province, Cambodia, women vegetable farmers are at the forefront of promoting agroecology. In this short documentary, watch how the Women Organic Vegetable Producer Group, with the support of the Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture (CEDAC), are able to...

Small-scale fisheries are part of the land - and seascape that many people are familiar with, mostly because of their presence in, and proximity to, places where tourism and recreational activities take place. Yet, unless one grows up in a fishing village, or comes from a fishing family, it is...

Sex-segregated employment data in the recently released State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018 report points to the need for better and more standardised data collection.  July 2018 witnessed the launch of ‘The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018’ (SOFIA 2018)—the flagship report of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)...

The ‘Study on risk management in EU agriculture’ provides an analysis of current agricultural risks and risk management instruments. It provides a mapping of relevant risks in EU agriculture. Information on availability and use of risk management instruments was collected in all Member States though consultations with public authorities, farmers’...

A new expert group is to be created by the European Commission to provide expertise, advice and possible recommendations on enhancing the role of the EU agri-food and agro-industrial sector in the sustainable economic development of Africa. The first step in the creation of the Task Force Rural Africa (TFRA) is...

This study presents the main trends in total factor and resource productivity in recent decades. The main pathways for sustainable intensification are explored through case studies and policy analysis. The paper presents a normative analysis of policy tools able to reconcile productivity and sustainability requirements and also provides policy recommendations...

The global environmental and social-economic crises of industrialized agriculture have led to the emergence of agroecology as an alternative approach aiming to increase the ecological, social and economic sustainability of agri–food systems. The ‘multi-level perspective’ is now a widely used framework to understand and promote the upscaling of local innovation niches, such as...

The member organizations of LIFE in Spain present amendments to the “Comprehensive Management Plan for the conservation of fishery resources affected by fisheries carried out with purse seines, trawls and passive gears in the Mediterranean coast of Spain”.

This article reviews a recent publication on women’s participation and leadership in fisherfolk organisations and collective action in fisheries. For all those who have been working with women in fisheries, this review of literature, undertaken by Enrique Alonso-Población and Susana V. Siar for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United...

This study presents a state of the art overview on urban agriculture and peri-urban agriculture (UPUA), the diversity of phenomena, motivations, distinctive features, benefits and limitations. UPUA is contextualized in relation to societal and economic transformations, EU strategic objectives, policies and regional food system approaches. Using best practice examples, the...

Au bout de plus de sept ans de conflit, la production de céréales, qui était déjà en baisse de 40% par rapport à son niveau d'avant la guerre, aux alentours de 2,5 à 2,7 millions de tonnes par an contre 4 millions de tonnes auparavant, "va subir une nouvelle réduction"...

En los últimos años, las tasas de crecimiento de la producción agropecuaria mundial y los rendimientos de los cultivos han disminuido. Esto ha suscitado temores de que el mundo no sea capaz de incrementar lo suficiente la producción de alimentos y otros productos para asegurar una alimentación adecuada de la...

Romanian Rural Network Newsletter, with a lot of news from Romania and EU

Costa Rica is among the first few countries to respond immediately and favourably to the question of implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (the SSF Guidelines). In a move that extends overwhelming support to the small-scale fisheries,...

Large-scale, industrial agriculture is often held up as the solution for feeding the world’s growing population. But small farms—with about 25 acres or less—along with family-run operations like Masumoto’s produce over 70 percent of the world’s food. Raising awareness of the contribution of these farmers inspired the We Feed the World...

In the next section, we analyze some ontological mismatches of the main sustainable transition frameworks and identify debates and gaps in current research. Instead of reinforcing the understanding of sustainability issues, we conclude that a hasty combination of frameworks without critical reflection on their ontologies generates theoretical inconsistencies and the...

Romanian Rural Network Newsletter, with news article regarding Rural development in Romania and in EU