Tackling biodiversity loss is a growing priority for human survival. Introducing incentives for positive actions could play a key role in helping to reverse this loss. This paper explores the potential of using a novel approach to promote biodiversity conservation. Biodiversity credits or ‘biocredits’ are coherent units of measurement that track...

Joint goals for sustainable development. With its 2030 Agenda, the United Nations has presented a global action framework for sustainable develop-ment. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, with a total of 169 sub-goals, are the cornerstone of the Agenda. The German Sustainability Strategy is informed by the 2030 Agenda...

The food supply has been disrupted by COVID-19. Shopping in supermarkets and grocery stores in the pandemic may not be a pleasant experience, as it can often lead to disappointment and anxiety since a lot of food items are not available or out of stock. The pandemic’s impact on the...

There is a pressing need for overarching digital strategies to unlock the potential of digitisation in the agricultural sector.Digital technologies can help European farmers increase their profitability and reduce their environmental impact, however they are more effective when supported by public policy. In the northern part of Germany, the region of...

The number of young people who want to work in agriculture is shrinking. Those who choose farming in Germany have to put up with high acquisition costs, complicated bureaucratic requirements and a modest income. 

The 12-minute film ‘We Unite’ is a window into the lives of two organic farmers and the reasons they join the yearly ‘We are Fed-Up’ demonstration in Germany. Along with hundreds of other farmers, they drive their tractors into the heart of Berlin where they unite with thousands of citizens calling for a better food and...

German Parliamentarian groups have pointed out that the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recognizes the potential and approaches of agroecology as an important response to social problems such as poverty, inequality, hunger and lack of gender equality. In addition, environmental challenges such as deforestation, water scarcity, rising carbon...

Dairy farming is currently facing a number of challenges. On the one hand, the products have to meet high environmental standards and animal welfare requirements, on the other hand the market demands cheap products. Kirsten Wosnitza, who runs a farm of 120 dairy cows in Schleswig-Holstein with her husband Gerd...

Wild Fruits is an Operational Group from Germany working on the production and processing potential of wild fruits such as chokeberries (Aronia spp.), roses (Rosa spp.) and flowering quinces (Chaenomeles spp.). There is a high market demand for these fruits which are considered health products, however there are very few...

Dairy farming is currently facing a number of challenges. On the one hand, the products have to meet high environmental standards and animal welfare requirements, on the other hand the market demands cheap products. Kirsten Wosnitza, who runs a farm of 120 dairy cows in Schleswig-Holstein with her husband Gerd...

The European Rural Youth Forum (ERYF) is a non-profit international NGO designed to provide a platform for young people from rural areas to discuss issues that are crucial to their countries and region. These topics are addressed during an annual summer university (7-10 days), which is held in a different...

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....

SOLMACC, an EU- LIFE funded project coordinated by IFOAM EU is about testing and sharing strategies for organic and low-input farming to mitigate and adapt to climate change. It wants to demonstrate that agriculture can be climate-friendly, but you need to apply a combination of optimised organic farming practices to...

"Go for it. Choose the rural alternative. Reclaim the fields!" All around Europe, young urban people with no agricultural background decide to start a farm, often using principles of agroecology and community supported agriculture. Despite the many difficulties these new farmers face, their practices are innovative, viable and sustainable. Representing...

The facts speak for themselves: more than half the global population now live in urban areas. According to forecasts, three-quarters of the global population, i.e. around 7 billion people, will be living in cities by 2050. Alongside globalisation, urbanisation is indisputably one of the main trends of our time. Everywhere,...

Bananas from Ecuador, Swiss cheese, French red wine, Argentinian steaks, Kenyan coffee, pepper from Vietnam – much of what we eat has been imported into Germany from other countries. Agricultural imports add variety to our plates. On the other hand the German agricultural sector also exports its products – and...

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

Following ICES advice for 2017, LIFE’s Members of the Baltic Region (including Poland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany) elaborated the following action plan, to be presented to decision-makers, with concrete proposals for a correct management of the Western Baltic Cod stock. Cod is one of the main sources of income for...

Following ICES advice for 2017, LIFE’s Members of the Baltic Region (including Poland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany) elaborated the comments and highlights below, to be presented to decision-makers, with concrete proposals for a correct management of Baltic stocks. 

The region of Europe and Central Asia is blessed with a wealth of crop, livestock, fish and forest genetic resources in diverse production systems. Unfortunately those resources are suffering from overexploitation, misuse and degradation and require immediate attention.