Important possibility for small family farmers is protection of their speciffic, indigenous agricultural products so they can obtain better recognition and market position. On this web page potential beneficiaries can find all relevant information about protection and labeling of their products.  

In the world, more than 80 per cent of farms are family farms – in total more than 500 million economic and social entities. In Europe 25 million people, 172 million hectares of agricultural land and 12 million farms are involved in EU agricultural production. A vast majority of these...

Even though Croatia is a small country (56 594 km2 ), it has very diverse topography; from Mediterranean, through Central European, mountainous and flat, to coastal and continental. It ranks as one of the top five European countries with regard to biodiversity, with some parts being among the richest areas...

The South-eastern European region (SEE) has made substantial progress towards stability, economic reforms, and European integration, which is one of the overriding political and economic challenges in the region. At the Zagreb Summit in November 2000, leaders from the European Union (EU) and the SEE countries confirmed their full commitment...

The International Year of Family Farming (IYFF) has uncovered well-grounded resolve to place family farmers as protagonists in addressing a number of challenges we face, from eradicating hunger and poverty to conserving natural resources. Nothing comes closer to the sustainable food production paradigm than family farming. The diverse set of...

Livestock production is the most important agricultural branch in terms of value, in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia & Macedonia

The concept of “High Nature Value farming” developed in the early 1990s from a growing recognition that the conservation of biodiversity in Europe depends on the continuation of low-intensity farming systems across large areas of countryside (see Beaufoy et al., 1994; Bignal et al., 1994; Bignal & McCracken, 1996; 2000)....

Family farming is the most common operational farming model in Europe – representing 97 % of the European Union’s (EU) 12 million farms. Thus it is of great importance in the EU. It covers a diverse range of situations, including farms of all sizes. While there are obvious differences across...

12 million farms, 172 million hectares of agricultural land, 25 million people involved in agricultural production – these are some of the key data for the EU farming sector in 2010; but what about the situation of individual farms and how do things differ between Member States and as compared...

The area of the City of Zagreb is the only Croatian region (NUTS 3), which is defined as an urban area. Fourteen of the twenty counties are classified as exceptionally rural, and six of them are classified as rural areas. Because of this division, the inhabitants of the rural areas...

Overall objective To strengthen the voice of civil sector in shaping, monitoring and evaluating sustainable development policies on local, national and international level through networking, cross-sectorial partnership and capacity building. Specific objectives To strengthen capacity and influence of the national civil society networks to make them recognized partners to the public sector in...

Domestic and donor-driven development agendas for African agriculture are spurring smallholder family farming as a catalyst for food security and poverty reduction. Family farms are also the backbone of agriculture in the European Union, although the process of concentration has gone further than in Africa. European agricultural policy reforms now...

All businesses need to innovate if they are to thrive, and family farms are no exception. By thinking ahead and developing new approaches, farmers can increase output, develop new and improved products, diversify and tap into new income streams, and remain environmentally sustainable. Innovative farms are more likely to weather...

The aim of the study was to gain a better understanding of the consumption and perception of processed fruits in Western Balkan countries in order to support consumer-oriented product development. In-depth interviews (n ¼ 183) were used to explore the consumption of processed fruits, the motives to consume such fruits...

This web site represents the Agricultural Pollution Control Project - APCP, funded by the World bank/GEF in the period from 2008-2012. The project represented an important agricultural activity of the Republic of Croatia in the context of adoption of new standards and legislation related to Good agricultural practice, especially environmental...

In the past decade, both worldwide and in Croatia, there has been an increased interest in the production of organic products. This is the result of several factors. The most important elements of the organic food industry are linking agriculture and tourism, improving overall tourism, increasing consumer concerns for health,...

Action plan describes planned activities and important steps in development of organic production in Croatia. Most organic producersa in Croatia are small and medium farmers that can signifficantly y improve their financial position through this type of production.

The concept of HNV farmland is a novelty for the South Eastern Europe (SEE) countries. But even in the absence of detailed studies it is clear that the generally very extensive character of agriculture in these countries suggests that there are large areas of HNV farmland in a variety of...

The Western Balkan countries are all in a process of accession to the European Union. Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro have the status of candidate countries. Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo under UNSCR 1244/99 are potential candidate countries, with the prospect of joining the EU when they meet the...

In the course of becoming a new EU member state, Croatian pig production systems are being modernized in order to ensure product quality and competitiveness according to European standards. This process involves the modernization and intensification of larger pig farms and the termination of small pig farms. Small‐scale farming, especially...