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

Women in Seafood Industry (WSI) is an international not-for-profit organization whose aim is to reinforce the voices of women in the seafood industry, amplifying their visibility through projects and collaborations with existing associations, and by supporting relevant initiatives and sharing information on the worldwide web. The WSI website, https://wsi-asso.org, has two interesting...

Austria is a country rich in forests, with almost 48% of its area covered by forests. Against this background, forests play a fundamental role for rural development, for the forest-based sector, and cross-sectoral cooperation such as tourism. Forests are a fundamental element for Austrian cultural landscapes and provide – beyond...

Even though drought is a familiar phenomenon in the region, over the past four decades, droughts have become more widespread, prolonged and frequent - likely due to climate change. The region is not only highly prone to drought, but also one of the world's most water-scarce areas, with desert making...

30th November 2017. While scientific terms for it were still being confirmed and relayed on land, hundreds of fishworkers at sea were already hit by the violent terror of a deadly cyclonic storm. More than 300 lives were lost, either battling Ockhi, or in the deathly silence after—tragic conquerors of...

Experience suggests that smallholder farmers are unlikely to adopt new innovations without improved models of technology transfer. However, the question of how to design innovative and cost-effective technology transfer strategies has not yet been sufficiently addressed. There is a risk that if we do not critically analyze and carefully manage...

Romanian Network for Rural Development Newsletter, with a lot of news from Romanian agriculture sector and EU