Globalisation, climate change, population growth and urbanisation are all having an impact on the world’s agriculture. Through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which accounts for the biggest share of the EU budget, the EU is driving developments in this strategic sector. Latest figures show that farming employs over 20 million...

This animated clip introduces European agriculture to 11-15 years old students. It is part of our teacher's resource pack - a collection of ready-to-use teaching and learning resources which aim to raise awareness among young Europeans of the importance of food and farming in Europe.

Model Sheep Fold is a good example of how traditional farming methods are supported by technical exper-tise to ensure that the traditional way of life in Romanian villages may be maintained. Solar panels supply the shepherds with electricity for light and for charging their cell phones. This enables the shepards...

Stretched between three branches of the Carpathian Mountains lies the Transylvanian Plateau, an expanse of valleys, forests and ravines where Ferma Ecologica Topa sits. The farm is run by Dan Cismas and his wife Tincuta, both of whom grew up in the village of Topa in Mures County. Dan Cismas has been farming for 30...

European citizens may choose the food they put into their shopping baskets, but they have not chosen the food systems that serve up that food. There is  currently no EU ‘food policy’. Instead, the food we eat and the food system we enjoy are shaped by a variety of distinct...

Nestled at the foot of the Vladeasa Mountains lies Sancraiu, a commune composed of five villages in Transylvania. One of the villages is Alunisu that provides an exquisite example of Romania’s subsistent peasantry. Here, Lars Veraart and Robyn Bors-Veraart set up their farm called Provision, the Transylvania School of Self Sufficient Living, which not only...

In the “Land Rights Campaign” Eco Ruralis researches the important aspect of generational renewal in peasant farming and its complex relation with land tenure and stewardship. First of all, we aim to disseminate the information to our members, Romanian peasants, and deepen their understanding and capacity to react to the imminent threat in the near future: the loss...

El mundo está alimentado por la agricultura familiar. Sin embargo, las pequeñas parcelas de cultivo y las explotaciones familiares han estado denostadas durante todos estos años, en los que el irremediable proceso de desagrarización ha ido aparejado de un insistente eslogan del capitalismo: lo pequeño no es competitivo. Es ya...

How do small-scale farming communities deal with the challenges of migration and land abandonment stemming from falling local income? This project shows the value of linking small-scale producers for their mutual benefit. Advantages are obtained on behalf of all small-scale farmers by procuring one food-safety authorization for multiple producers, by...

With the help of the young farmer grant, the producer has installed a processing unit for the production of ice cream, enabling him to sell ice cream at local events. He has also made two rooms available for guests and runs a bike rental service.

Cuando las Cortes Generales aprobaron la Ley 45/2007, para el Desarrollo Sostenible del Medio Rural, el objetivo fundamental era llenar un vacío legislativo y político que supliera la ausencia de una legislación y de una política rural propias, que se había cubierto parcialmente con reglamentos y políticas derivadas de la...

Brian O’Riordan, LIFE’s Deputy Director, explains to the readers of Inshore Ireland the consequences of the “tradition of exemptions” and the future steps needed for a correct management of the small-scale fleet in the long term.  

A collection of short examples of initiatives/projects related to new entrants into farming (mostly small scale)

The international community is beginning to recognize the integral role of urban agriculture in improving the economy, environment, and health of cities. The Resource Center on Urban Agriculture and Food Security (RUAF) Foundation expects that by 2020, 85 percent of the poor in Latin America, and about 40 to 45...

Since 1990, in 25 European countries the populations of a group of common farmland birds have been reduced by roughly 25% and in some cases as much as 50%. This decrease in bird numbers along with the wider decrease in biodiversity in the EU is largely related to loss of...

The forest not only supplies the raw material for paper and solid wood products, it also has a great potential for renewable energy production. As the EU designs its energy and climate policy for post-2020, it is essential to consider this remarkable asset. Without a congruent EU bioenergy policy with the...

Following ICES advice for 2017, LIFE’s Members of the Baltic Region (including Poland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany) elaborated the following action plan, to be presented to decision-makers, with concrete proposals for a correct management of the Western Baltic Cod stock. Cod is one of the main sources of income for...

Organic farming in Austria has undergone various development phases, starting from the pioneer phase in the inter-war period and  a phase of institutionalisation between the 1970ies and the 1980ies when organic associations were founded and first regulations for the certification of organic products were established (Austrian Food Code). From the...

Fundația ADEPT Transilvania  is listed among the 1.000 worldwide cultural institutions on the Google Cultural Institute, which brings together millions of artifacts from multiple partners, with the stories that bring them to life, in a virtual museum

Following ICES advice for 2017, LIFE’s Members of the Baltic Region (including Poland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany) elaborated the comments and highlights below, to be presented to decision-makers, with concrete proposals for a correct management of Baltic stocks.