In Italy, an innovative partnership between organic farmers, local governments, catering and hospitality industries have led to the creation of Bio-districts – territorial networks that promote short supply chains, preserve local traditions and resources, and support rural development. We talked to Salvatore Baslie, one of the initiators of the Bio-district...

The second Mayors Summit of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP), will take place on 13-14 October 2016 at FAO Headquarters in Rome. Due to the strong link between FAO’s mission and the objectives of the MUFPP, FAO has agreed to support this initiative and to host the second annual gathering...

The Europe 2020 strategy for growth and jobs called for a stronger role of financial instruments in 2014-2020. The European Council subsequently gave a mandate to the European Commission that the programming of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) should be used to significantly increase the overall EU support...

En Ecuador, el Gobierno Nacional ha desarrollado la Estrategia de Reducción Acelerada de la Desnutrición Crónica Infantil, cuyo enfoque es intervenir en todas las aristas que directa o indirectamente son detonantes de la desnutrición. En este marco el Programa Mundial de Alimentos en Ecuador en miras de cambiar el comportamiento...

The Global Food Forum will gather passionate political and business leaders willing to share insights on their vision, as well as on possible pathways for future developments, aiming to enhance both economic performance and environmental sustainability –around 250 participants representing key influencers of the EU debate will participate, including many MEPs and...

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

In the Mediterranean, the diversity of production systems and value chains is seen as an asset for sustainability. More than anywhere else, the Mediterranean zone boasts a wide range of sheep and goat farming situations, products and natural resources. This diversity of production systems has provided many different products, shaped...

Association of private farming of the Czech Republic organized an International Conference on family farms and Common Agricultural Policy of EU. The event was held in Brno on 4 - 6th of April 2016. 10 European countries attended the conference. Herewith volume 3. Presentation of Italy

Nearly 61% of EU young farmers consider the availability of land for purchase and 57% the availability of land for rent as the most difficult challenges they face, often due to issues such as land ownership laws, inheritance rules and land prices, according to a new external report published by...

In the early 2000s, dairy cattle farmers in the valley of Wipptal in northern Italy found their herds were producing an excess of slurries. Furthermore, due to reasons such as conflicts with tourism (odour problems) and the fact that 40% of the meadows in the area are steep sloping, limited...

Genetic diversity in food and agriculture is vital for ensuring high quality food production and for making animal breeds, forests and plants more diverse and better adapted to cope with changing environments, the impacts of climate change (such as drought), and new pests and diseases. To reverse the loss of...

The workshop “Support to family farming and small scale agriculture to achieve rural poverty reduction. Opportunities and priorities to strengthen FAO Regional Initiatives” is aimed at analysing the main trends in family farming and debating the strategy and achievements of the three FAO Regional Initiatives related to family farming and...

Last transhumance describes in photography and film the extinction of a millennial way of life. Last Transhumance is an artistic, ethnographic and sociological project totalling 8 years, 6 countries, more than 50,000 km travelled, 100,000 photos, 70 hours of footage and 100 hours audio recordings.

The agri-food sector is at the crossroads between huge opportunities and massive pressure. Every single decision needs to be informed by a wide range of factors, where citizen expectations, breakthrough technologies and consumption patterns in developed but also in developing countries are only the tip of the iceberg.  To cope with...

New agreement aims to ensure capacity development, farmers’ access to productive resources, knowledge exchange. India's Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) and FAO are strengthening their collaboration to boost rural development and reduce poverty in Asia and Africa via local initiatives focused on empowering rural women and youth.

Think of Italy and one thinks of food, but not many people think 'mountains.' Yet mountains remain a principle source of the traditional, handcrafted food production Italy is famous for. Since climate and gradients combined render large-scale industrial agriculture unfeasible, food traditions and environmental health endure in most of Italy's mountains....

When water is scarce, irrigation scheduling and irrigation efficiency are especially important. New, innovative ways of obtaining real time feedback on irrigation management are currently being developed including digitally connected fruit measuring tools and online precise irrigation-scheduling algorithms.

Report on a project looking at three enterprises involved in short supply chains: Willem & Drees in the Netherlands, Pico Bio in Switerland and Cooperativa Agricoltura Nuova in Italy.

Documentaries on the Best Practices in Rural Development carried out by young farmers that have been granted support under EU Rural development policies.

Documentaries on the Best Practices in Rural Development carried out by young farmers that have been granted support under EU Rural development policies.