About: agriculture Archives

The world is in constant need of more food and new genetic engineering methods such as the CRISPR gene editing method offer a solution. However, these remain contested, EURACTIV Germany reports.

400 agriculture-related EU stakeholders, convened by the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food), has mapped out a new governance architecture for food systems in a bid to create sustainable food systems under a ‘Common Food Policy’.

The Commission, Council and Parliament have agreed to facilitate the use of organic fertilisers, for which there has been no regulatory framework so far. Fertilisers will also have to contain less heavy metal in the future.

Financial assistance for French organic farming has accrued more than two years of delays, organic farmers have filed complaints with the French human rights defender and hope that the state will renew the existing cash advances. EURACTIV France’s media partner the Journal de l’environnement reports.

Climate-related litigations are set to break new grounds following a landmark report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) earlier this month, which provided lawyers with new evidence that limiting global warming to 1.5°C is still possible. 

France has new ministers for agriculture, culture and the interior after a government reshuffle. The new portfolio-holders will be at the forefront of reforms to the CAP, copyright law and the European asylum system. EURACTIV France reports.

In order to discourage foreign investors from purchasing hectares of farmland, the “Safer” society and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region are encouraging MPs to notify them of this in advance. EURACTIV France’s media partner, the Journal de l’environnment reports.

Spirulina, an ancient algae with many nutritional qualities is still not widely grown in Europe, which is, however, a major consumer of this “super food”. In the Nantes region, a market gardening group has ventured into greenhouse farming with the support of European funds. EURACTIV France reports.

As the UN's climate chief called for more "urgency" from negotiators at the ongoing Bangkok climate talks, a new international report found that a socially just transition is already feasible for coal workers and communities, while a global decline in coal production is expected.

Agriculture will be part of the negotiations between the United States and the European Union, whether Brussels wants to discuss it or not, US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said Monday (30 July).

President Donald Trump declared victory for American farmers Thursday (26 July) after brokering a ceasefire in a trade dispute with the European Union, but it is unclear how soon it will bring relief to those hurt by tit-for-tat tariffs.

Agriculture still has to face up to the fact that farmers are ageing and young farmers are not interested. The cause rests in the limited access to land, migration from the countryside to urban areas and the negative media image imposed on agriculture. EURACTIV Czech Republic reports.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday (26 July) he viewed talks between US President Donald Trump and EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker as "useful", but he was "not in favour" of a "vast new trade deal" between the European Union and the United States.

Together, the five largest meat and dairy corporations (JBS, Tyson, Cargill, Dairy Farmers of America and Fonterra) are already responsible for more annual greenhouse gas emissions than ExxonMobil, Shell or BP, a new study released on Wednesday (18 July) warns.

Olivier De Schutter, a co-chair of the international expert panel IPES-Food, calls on the European Commission to lay the foundations for a Common Food Policy. EURACTIV.fr reports.

L’Abattoir, one of the biggest urban markets in Europe, built in an old slaughterhouse, could well be seen as a symbol of circular economy as it has become a source of income for the poor while promoting sustainable farming on its rooftop.

There is growing criticism in France of increased subsidiarity of the future Common Agricultural Policy for the 2021-2027 period, which the Commission seems to favour, EURACTIV.fr reports.

The end of sugar quotas coincides with the collapse of prices on the world market. This is currently more of a problem  for sugar refiners than sugar beet growers, who are still protected by contracts. EURACTIV.fr reports

While the European Parliament has decided to ban palm oil imports by 2021, France recently gave the go-ahead for a biorefinery owned by Total, a move that prompted many critics. EURACTIV.fr reports.

Syria's farming has been remarkably resilient after more than six years of civil war, but it is now time to help rebuild the country’s agricultural sector, a senior UN official has told EURACTIV.

Livestock farmers and MEPs met in Brussels this week to demand a change in the EU's policy on the protection of wolves. Farmers are angered by the European Commission’s position, which they say favours wolves over livestock. EURACTIV.fr reports

The French agriculture minister wants to set up an alliance with other agricultural countries to avoid a 5% cut in Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funding envisaged in the EU's 2021-2027 budget proposal. EURACTIV.fr reports.

The EU’s budget proposal for 2020-2027 is mostly in line with France’s ambition for Europe: it maintains means and increases its priorities. However, the proposed slight cut in the CAP did not go down well. EURACTIV.fr reports.

European imports of soy, cocoa and palm oil fuel deforestation in developing countries. The fight against the resulting collateral damage in Europe is complicated by agricultural interests.