About: sustainable agriculture
Land degradation threatens wellbeing of two-fifths of humanity, major report warns
Land degradation caused by human activities undermines the well-being of at least 3.2 billion people, costs more than 10% of annual global GDP in lost ecosystem services and endangers food security, warn a hundred experts from 45 countries in a three-year assessment report published yesterday (26 March).
Development through agriculture, the farmer’s way
Belgian farmer Remy Schiffeleers founded the association "Farmers Without Borders" 30 years ago, inviting young farmers from Benin, Senegal, Mali come to Belgium and learn how to produce goat cheese.
The hidden truth about migration: A looming farm crisis back home
Mass migration has become a major political challenge in Europe. While the media documents the perilous journeys that migrants undertake, the hardships and hopes of the rural areas from which many originate receive less attention, meaning the root causes of migration persist, writes Claudia Sadoff. VideoPromoted content
European biodiesel: the challenges of the RED II
The Commission proposal to revise the Renewable Energy Directive is not only lacking ambition, it is also a challenge to the entire biofuel chain, from farmers to industry.
Denmark disputes ‘highly unfair’ air pollution limits on agriculture
Copenhagen voted against an EU decision to endorse an amendment to the Gothenburg Protocol on transboundary air pollution, saying it is being unfairly penalised for having taken early action to reduce ammonia emissions from its agriculture sector.
EU rural areas must enter digital era, says Hogan
The future of EU’s rural development depends on digital technologies, which are essential to fill the existing gap with urban areas, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan has said.
Biostimulants take centre stage in EU push for green fertilisers
The review of the European Union's Fertilisers Regulation will promote innovative products such as biostimulants, in an effort to help agriculture take the turn of the circular economy.
Potocnik: Farmers and consumers ‘equally responsible’ for agricultural transformation
Every food producer should help make agriculture sustainable, Janez Potočnik told EURACTIV.com.
UN chief: Food chain shows peoples’ fate ‘interdependent’
Humankind needs to take a more collaborative approach to agriculture in order to sustain its future nutrition needs, while at the same time minimising environmental harm to the planet, global leaders and luminaries have warned.
Agriculture holds key to UN Sustainable Development Goals
Agriculture will play a crucial role in addressing the planet’s future needs – whether on food production, health or the preservation of the environment. But transforming the dominant agricultural model could be the greatest challenge of all.
CAP and animal welfare: Simply incompatible
Livestock production has been at the centre of the intensification in agriculture brought by Europe's Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), writes Olga Kikou. These policies have put farmers under pressure, and created conditions for overproduction, she says.
EU emissions limits for agricultural gases face uncertain future
SPECIAL REPORT / Efforts to cap agricultural emissions harmful to both the environment and human health face fierce opposition and tough negotiations before they can finally become EU law.
CAP could be called in for ‘better regulation’ scrutiny
SPECIAL REPORT: EXCLUSIVE / Environmental campaigners plan to force changes in the reformed Common Agricultural Policy by using the European Commission’s 'better regulation' procedures to call in the laws for renewed scrutiny.
San Jeronimo and Edegem are proud of their compost project
SPECIAL REPORT / The partnership between the Belgian town of Edegem, and the Peruvian municipality of San Jeronimo has been so successful that many other localities in the Latin American country come to visit and study the project that composts organic waste and uses it for agriculture.
Jeremy Rifkin: ‘Number two cause of global warming emissions? Animal husbandry’
An estimated 40% of all the agricultural land in the world today is used to grow feed grains for beef production, a trend that is set to worsen with the rise of the middle class in Asia, warns Jeremy Rifkin.
Food industry focuses on sustainable sourcing to mitigate climate change
SPECIAL REPORT / Faced with a raw materials scarcity due to climate change, food and drink giants have turned to a sustainable management in order to protect the environment and ensure their future viability.
Commission seeks solutions to ‘confusing’ Green labelled products
SPECIAL REPORT / Adopting common methodologies to measure products’ environmental footprint is part of the EU’s efforts to move toward a green single market. But communicating this environmental information is a huge challenge.
Nestlé executive: ‘We are all facing risks of having supply challenges’
Climate change is confronting the European food sector with an unprecedented risk related to supplies of agricultural raw materials, warns Pascal Gréverath.
Food sector looks beyond factory gates for deep CO2 cuts
The European food and drink industry can boast a healthy track record in reducing its carbon footprint ahead of the COP21 conference, which opens in Paris later this month.
How Ukraine’s chicken king could benefit from EU largesse
Future European investment in Ukraine’s booming agricultural sector are set to be conditioned to reforms and a crackdown on graft. But those reforms may result in the wholesale suspension of regulation in the agricultural sector and land grabbing, writes Fidanka Bacheva-McGrath
Can the ‘Made in Germany’ approach lead to self-sufficiency?
SPECIAL REPORT / The German government wants to spruce up the African agricultural sector with "Green Innovation Centres", as well as by using the help of German agribusiness. Critics warn against making the same mistakes that were made 40 years ago.
Hogan: Empowering women farmers in developing countries is ‘absolutely crucial’
SPECIAL REPORT/ In a wide-ranging exclusive interview, Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan shared his vision of how the EU and developing countries could greatly improve global food security togther, through innovation and sustainable farming practices.
There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch
We have grown accustomed to the fact that anything we want is at our fingertips at any time. But as the world population grows faster than ever, we need significant changes to the way we think about feeding the planet, writes Pawe? Jarczewski.