The monthly newsletter of the Low Impact Fishers of Europe

Receive advice and advisory services to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of your fishing activities, for example, to: • develop marketing / business strategies, • undertake feasibility studies, • receive professional advice on how to apply for EMFF support.

In the global moment of uncertainty we need to both guarantee our fisheries’ sustainability and the continuation of our specific cultural traditions and ways of fishing. Narratives of doom and gloom need to be met, addressed and learned from, but central to the survival of European small-scale fisheries will be...

Farmers in France are seeking growth through direct sales, short supply chains and local agriculture, targeting a burgeoning market in local produce. More and more consumers are choosing to eat local, and farmers are responding.

Le numérique, les technologies de l’information et de la communication constituent un déterminant de plus en plus important dans les stratégies agricoles et de développement rural. De manières inégales et différenciées ces dynamiques globales se diffusent dans l’ensemble des pays méditerranéens qui doivent faire face à la rareté des ressources naturelles,...

On March 31st 2017, representatives from different institutions met in Solčava, a remote village in the Upper Savinja valley in Slovenia, to publicly present their initiative to form a project consortium whose main aim will be to establish a wood value chain for Mountain wood as a developmental opportunity for...

The EIP-AGRI network is holding a two-day workshop dedicated to Operational Groups dealing with organic farming, in cooperation with the German Federal Office for Agriculture and Food, Innovationsbüro EIP Agrar Schleswig-Holstein, Innovationszentrum Niedersachsen GmbH and IFOAM EU. Around 300 Operational Group projects supported by the Rural Development Programmes have started....

The circular economy is based on “sharing, leasing, reuse, repair, refurbishment, and recycling” of products and materials in an ideally closed loop. The goal is to reduce waste by keeping products and materials within the economy. The necessity for a more circular economy will only increase with increasing pressure on...

Aiming to boost short food supply chains in Europe, a newly launched Horizon 2020project – SKIN – will work to create a knowledge and innovation network and foster demand-driven, bottom-up innovation. The project will bring together food producers and consumers into a permanent association of stakeholders, working to improve the efficiency...

The Family Agriculture Yearbook in Spain has become a referenceFor all the professionals who follow the agrarian activity in Spain. The theme that is developed in the 2017 edition, "Agriculture, development and innovation in rural territories. The risks of depopulation: Where there is agriculture, there is life ", has a...

Natura 2000 is the largest network of protected areas in the world. People living in and around Natura 2000 areas utilise these for a variety of economic activities. Designation of Natura 2000 areas often creates additional restrictions though, sometimes leading people to perceive Natura 2000 as a burden. One solution...

A branding campaign and a dedicated website to promote Natura 2000 products with the aim of showcasing their socio-economic benefits and triggering new partnerships between site managers, farmers and local businesses has been launched.

This issue of Farming Matters is about food sovereignty. Food sovereignty is a self-organised, grassroots response to today’s problematic food and farming system. Diverse people, such as producers, consumers, peasants, migrant farm workers and urban citizens, to name a few, are uniting around initiatives to regain control over their food...

Climate change resulting in flooded lands, droughts, water shortages and poor water quality has a direct impact on farming in Europe. Farmers need to manage the water on their farms, without compromising farm viability. Concrete on-farm solutions ranging from active cooperation to water sensing systems, multi-functional wetlands and rain harvesting,...

Urgenci, the international network of Local Solidarity Partnerships for Agroecology between producers and consumers (LSPA) and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). As part of the 3-year mutual commitment, the Mediterranean network, including members...

Número 264 de la revista oficial de UPA “La Tierra del agricultor y ganadero'' -  UPA elabora un documental sobre la difícil convivencia entre ganadería y lobos ; UPA insiste ante el Gobierno y la Unión Europea en exigir más presupuesto para la PAC del futuro y ayudas directas prioritarias a...

Between November 22 - 25, 2017 Lebanon hosted the 2nd Learning Journey on LSPA: Local Solidarity Partnerships for Agro-ecology between producers and consumers. Around 20 facilitators from 11 Mediterranean countries (Algeria, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia, Turkey, Syria) participated and shared their experiences through meetings and site...

How to strengthen producers-consumers relationships ? This activity is one of the numerous exercises to be tried out during Urgenci's learning journeys. The latest of these journeys took place in Turkey 4-8 October, thanks to the support from the Civil Society Team of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Some tasks...

Over 3 billion people depend directly on our seas for their livelihoods. But in reality, all of us depend on the ocean: for our water, our food, our climate and our air. Seas and oceans enrich our identity, ensure our wellbeing and sustain a large part of the economy. Human action has...

The Baltic Studies Centre, in cooperation with the Latvian Academy of Culture is organising a scientific and practical conference Alternative food supply networks in Central and Eastern Europe: Towards new grounds for interpretation and collaboration. The organisers invite researchers and practitioners to submit papers exploring the diversity of food practices...