A young entrepreneur, Ms Zsóka Fekete, after her studies on animal production decided to set up her own farm. There she would breed the native Hungarian swine breed called Mangalica. RDP support from different measures was received at the different stages of the farm’s development.

Currently, the development of any sector involves respecting the principles of sustainability, which means economic, social and environmental development. Moreover, organic farming is a very important field for ensuring sustainable development. Romania has great potential for the development of organic agriculture, especially due to the large number of available farmland...

Dynamic cooperatives leaders introduce their agri-cooperatives in different EU Member States and explain how EU agri-cooperatives increase the value output of their farm in the market, while active member participation in the governance of their cooperative, ensures that all actions of the cooperative are in the best interest of members...

At a rural development conference in Cork at the beginning of the month, 330 stakeholders were brought together to consider the challenges facing the agricultural sector. One can only speculate what was meant by the following sentence, found in the preamble to the declaration that was signed at its conclusion:...

The Farm-Success Project was started by a kick-off meeting on the TUM campus of Weihenstephan in Freising, Germany on the 22-23rd October 2015. Representatives from each of the Project’s eight partners attended the kick-off meeting; the first meeting of many transnational meetings held throughout the duration of the Project. The...

My farm is Berkeley Farm Dairy, Wroughton, Wiltshire, UK. I farm with my husband, Nick and son, Edward. We converted to organic farming in 1997. We have 140 Guernsey cows and process our own milk. We supply an organic box company and local shops and restaurants with milk, cream and...

Food waste is an issue of importance to global food security and good environmental governance, directly linked with environmental (e.g. energy, climate change, water, availability of resources), economic (e.g. resource efficiency, price volatility, increasing costs, consumption, waste management, commodity markets) and social (e.g. health, equality) impacts. Different studies show that...

After the first Cork conference in 1996, Rural Development Policy was introduced as the second pillar of the CAP and a European policy in its own right. Its focus is the economic, environmental and social sustainability of EU rural areas. In the current programming period this is reflected in the...

The study provides the results of research into the women’s motives for engaging in business activity, the internal determinants (personal traits) and external conditions of running business, the intentions to develop the business, and the expectations about measures for facilitating and supporting the business activity of women. It was found,...

As 2017 Baltic TAC negotiations near conclusion, lobbyists are taking a plethora of public stances. Rather than muddying the waters further, LIFE would like to recall the main elements of its Action Plan for Western cod, elaborated in July.

A new four-year project founded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovative programme and coordinated by the James Hutton Institute was launched in April 2016. “Social Innovation in Marginalised Rural Areas” (SIMRA) seeks to advance understanding of social innovation and innovative governance in agriculture, forestry and rural development,...

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) cannot make sure that a strong policy will be useful and affordable for all farmers in all countries. That should be done on a national level, but the CAP should secure that there is a framework. This framework should make it possible and at the same...

International finance institutions and member state export credit agencies continue to invest in projects outside the EU involving cruel farm animal confinement systems banned in the EU. Better joined-up thinking is needed with regard to investment policy and animal welfare, writes Joanna Swabe.

Une fois n’est pas coutume, la France est en pointe en Europe dans le développement de circuits courts, qui associent agriculteurs et consommateurs pour des produits de qualité vendus au prix le plus juste pour chacun. L’agriculture biologique poursuit également son essor : 21 nouvelles fermes en bio se créent ou...

Unpublished field trials by pesticide manufacturers show their products cause serious harm to honeybees at high levels, leading to calls from senior scientists for the companies to end the secrecy which cloaks much of their research.

Entering Poland to European Union which resulted in accepting The Common Agricultural Policy caused a variety of changes in polish villages and countries. Previous problems of rural areas like fragmentation and low efficiency of farms, bad financial situation of inhabitants, high rate of unemployment, relatively low educational level and lack...

The POSEI scheme in the EU outermost regions* is vital to address their particular agricultural challenges, notably in bridging the difference in costs and prices relative to mainland Europe and in maintaining agricultural production, according to a new report published today. Looking at the scheme from 2006-2014 – at a cost...

La producción porcina ecológica permite la obtención de productos de alta calidad mediante la utilización de técnicas que respetan ampliamente el medio ambiente y el bienestar animal, y puede ser una alternativa viable para ganaderos que ven comprometido su futuro en el mercado convencional. Además, estas técnicas pueden ser interesantes...

The concept of added value in food and drink supply chains is not new, but it is re-emerging as a highly popular tool for promoting rural development. The value of a product or service can be increased at different stages of its production or delivery by the addition of features...

Europa está en el centro de un rápido proceso de cambio a nivel planetario, marcado tanto por las mutaciones económicas como por los desafíos medioambientales a escala global. Para responder a todo esto, muchos Estados optan por un fortalecimiento de sus políticas urbanas, considerando que las dinámicas económicas descansan en...