Agrifood
Agrifood Brief: From food sovereignty to food security
Last week saw French agriculture minister Julien Denormandie, after being snubbed for the role of France’s prime minister, step back from politics altogether.
Putin and Draghi discuss ways to help solve food crisis
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Thursday (26 May) discussed ways to help ease the international food crisis, with the Kremlin saying this could be done only if the West lifts sanctions.
EU farm ministers agree to bird flu vaccine strategy
EU agriculture ministers agreed in Brussels on Tuesday (24 May) to implement a bird flu vaccine strategy as the bloc struggles with the most violent outbreak in its history. EURACTIV France reports.
German agri minister pleased with Commission’s criticism of CAP strategic plan
In its letter of observation on Germany's plans for the implementation of the EU agricultural reform, the European Commission criticised far-reaching issues and called for more environmental and climate protection.
France’s new agri and food minister: a familiar face in the industry
While not very known to the public, Marc Fesneau, who will take over France's renamed Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, is respected in the field but has been criticised for his past record on animal welfare. EURACTIV France reports.
Agrifood Podcast: New French agri minister, CAP on pause, EU Ombudsman
This week, EURACTIV’s agrifood team discusses the agenda for the upcoming meeting of EU agricultural ministers, which will be the first for France’s new agricultural minister, Marc Fesneau, who has a shiny new addition to his title, we talk about...
German development minister understands India’s wheat export ban
India restricting its wheat exports amid the tense global market situation is understandable due to the prevailing drought in the country, German Economic Cooperation and Development Minister Svenja Schulze said. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Agrifood Brief: (Data) Space Oddity
Sharing is caring, and so the EU has set out on a mission to build a common agriculture data space. But the farming sector’s intergalactic journey to (data) space is long and fraught with obstacles.
MEPs back one-year trade liberalisation with Ukraine
The European Parliament has endorsed the suspension for one year of all tariffs and quotas on Ukrainian exports, including agricultural products, processed agricultural products, and fruit and vegetables.
Farming sector cautious about using CAP funds to drop Russian energy imports
Europe's farming community gave a lukewarm reception to the possibility, suggested by the European Commission, of transferring up to €7.5 billion from the EU’s farming subsidies to the support measures aimed at overcoming dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
EU’s ‘solidarity lanes’ will not ‘significantly’ help Ukraine export, says Ukrainian MP
The recently announced EU measures to help Ukraine export grain despite the Russian blockade of its seaports are not enough as they will be mostly based on the country's obsolete railways, a Ukrainian lawmaker has told the European Parliament.
MEPs ask to pause CAP biodiversity requirements amid Ukraine war
The majority group leaders of the European Parliament's agriculture committee asked the Commission to consider temporary derogations of the EU’s already adopted agriculture subsidies reform in light of the war in Ukraine.Editor's picks
EU to fund Albanian agriculture, organic farming, rural development
The EU is set to plough some €112 million into Albanian agricultural and rural development, including sustainability, agritourism, and organic farming, as a part of the IPARD III programme announced on Wednesday. The programme covers 2021 to 2027 and seeks...
Yemen’s wheat industry urges international action to avert mass famine
Urgent international action is needed to avert a mass famine in Yemen on a never-before seen scale due to the Ukraine war, according to the country's largest wheat importer, the HSA Group, who wrote to leaders ahead of a UN summit this week.
US backs UN push to get Ukraine grain back to global market
The United States supports efforts by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to get Ukrainian grain back into the international marketplace amid the war, the US ambassador to the United Nations said on Monday (16 May).
Albania pledges to meet Green Deal organic farming targets by 2030
Albania is confident it can reach the European Green Deal target of 25% of agricultural land under organic farming by 2030 without negatively impacting farmers or consumers during the transition, Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Frida Krifca said. Krifca represented Albania at...
EU study: CAP support for ‘couch’ farmers negatively impacts farm communities
Common Agricultural Policy support for landowners not actively engaged in farming has indirectly negatively impacted farming communities, at the same time as the EU continues to haemorrhage farms at an alarming rate, a new EU study has found.
Ukraine minister seeks G7 help to export 40 million tonnes of grain
Global food security and the impact of Russia’s invasion are high on the agenda of the G7 agriculture ministers meeting on Friday and Saturday (13-14 May), with Ukrainian minister Mykola Solskyj as a special guest.
Agrifood Brief: A sad tale from the farm
This week, EURACTIV travelled to the Vendée region of Western France to meet two generations of a farming family who are struggling to make ends meet amid rising costs and a rapidly changing society.
Agrifood Podcast: EU-Turkey agri-trade, Crop rotation debate, Deforestation Law
This week, EURACTIV’s agrifood team brings you the latest on the first high-level meeting to strengthen the EU-Turkey agri-trade and we discuss our thoughts about what to expect from these talks. We also talk about the debate in Germany over...
Commission slams Slovakia’s proposed restriction of grain, cereal exports
Slovakia has tabled a proposal that would restrict agricultural commodities exports in light of the war in Ukraine, a move the European Commission has condemned, warning any bans of this nature to destabilise markets and lead to price increases.
Commission opens ‘solidarity lanes’ to strengthen EU-Ukraine food export
The European Commission has introduced new so-called ‘solidarity lanes’ to improve EU-Ukraine connectivity for grain export, including through railways, amid the blockade of Ukrainian ports due to the Russian invasion.
Investing in small farmers, agroecology critical to get us out of current food crisis
Already battered by the climate crisis and COVID-19, Africa is now facing rising food prices in light of the war in Ukraine. Investing in agroecology and smallholder farmers is the only way out of the crisis, Joseph Mandinyenya and Ruchi Tripathi argue.