ARC2020

France | Not Perfect, But Possible - Seeing is Believing at Institut de Tramayes | Agricultural and Rural Convention In the run-up to this November’s Rural Resilience Gathering, ARC2020’s Ashley Parsons and Thierry Lohr, local councillor for Plessé and one of the key initiators of a Université Paysanne in the munici...

Our recent visit to Institut de Tramayes was a moment to reflect on what it means to build a learning space that is rooted in rural realities & ambitions
www.arc2020.eu/france-not-p...
#RuralResilience #Plessé #France #EU #Education

Rural Pact | Stuck in The Loop – Time To Get To Action | Agricultural and Rural Convention The Rural Pact Conference “From vision to action: Empowering rural areas for the future” took place in Kortrijk, Belgium on 16-17 September. Following this event, ARC2020 president Hannes Lorenzen sha...

The #RuralPact is losing momentum.
5 years in, Europe’s rural communities are still waiting for real change.
Action over reflection, local empowerment, secure funding, and integrated rural policy:
arc2020.eu/rural-pact-stuck-in-the-loop-time-to-get-to-action #RuralVisionEU #RuralPactConference

Rise for Food Justice - Join the European Days of Action 2025! | Agricultural and Rural Convention October is just around the corner - and so are the European Days of Action! Since 2018, the #GoodFoodGoodFarming movement has united thousands across Europe to demand just food systems. This year’s fo...

🌱 “Change doesn’t just happen in Brussels or Strasbourg. It happens in villages, towns, schools, and kitchens across Europe.”

Thanks to @arc2020.bsky.social for interviewing us about the European Days of Action – what it is, why we’re mobilizing, and how everyone can get involved!

Rural Resilience Caravan to Return to Plessé, France | Agricultural and Rural Convention On 27 - 30 November, the Rural Resilience Gathering 2025 will take place in Plessé, France, co-organised by ARC2020 and elected representatives of Plessé together with a whole host of partners active ...

The Rural Resilience Gathering 2025 will take place in Plessé, France! Organised by ARC and elected representatives of Plessé, we'll convene partners active in #Agroecology, #AccessToLand and #FoodSovereignty at this crucial moment for Europe's rural areas. Event info: www.arc2020.eu/rural-resili...

Op-Ed | Farmland Sees the Less Sunny Side of Germany’s Solar Transition Germany’s energy transition is affecting its land market, driving investment and increasing concentration of land ownership. In this op-ed, Anne Neuber of Netzwerk Flächensicherung, an alliance workin...

"Farmland Sees the Less Sunny Side of Germany’s Solar Transition" - new op-ed about the German energy transition & land market dynamics by Anne Neuber of Netzwerk Flächensicherung on ARC2020 now: www.arc2020.eu/op-ed-farmla...

European Rural Parliament 2025 — Rural Community Solutions to Global Challenges | Agricultural and Rural Convention This October 20-23, over 400 rural delegates from across Europe will gather in the north-east of Scotland for the 6th European Rural Parliament (ERP), a participative democratic assembly that shines a...

📣 #ERP2025 is happening in Scotland on Oct 20-23. Read all about it in our new article:
www.arc2020.eu/european-rur...
#RuralFirst #Solidarity #Sustainability #PlaceBasedKnowledge

Re-Sowing the Seeds of Connection in Switzerland, Part II – Healthy Interdependencies, Led By Farmers | Agricultural and Rural Convention In a global context marked by rising trade tensions, identity-based isolationism, and climate pressures, the Seeds4All project wanted to understand how Switzerland, landlocked at the heart of the Euro...

#Seeds4All visited #Switzerland this summer 🌽
Adèle Pautrat reports from #FoodCultureDays + so many learnings from #agroecology in the field 🌱
#FoodSovereignty #Biodiversity #LocalFood #Tamales
www.arc2020.eu/re-sowing-th...

We are back at our desks & asking the big questions 🥕
What #EU policy supports are there for smaller farmers to supply #localfood? 🥬
@olliemoore.bsky.social & Ashley Parsons give us plenty to chew on in this new article 🍎
www.arc2020.eu/does-eu-poli...
#RuralResilience @greenpeace.eu

Great piece by Edina Ocsko on the power matrix in rural policy

Letter From The Farm | How a Young Lithuanian Farmer Blends Science, Soil & Community | Agricultural and Rural Convention ARC’s Hannes Lorenzen met Vytenis Grigas, a young Lithuanian farmer and psychology lecturer, at a CEJA conference on the future of EU farm policy. Five years ago Vytenis began what he calls a “serious...

🌱 Young Lithuanian Farmer: Cultivating Soil, Science & Community

Meet Vytenis Grigas—a visionary farmer blending psychology, permaculture & community to regenerate soil and fight for fair EU agri-policy.

Read his story 👉 www.arc2020.eu/how-a-young-...

#Agroecology #YoungFarmers #CAP

Letter From The Farm | Neighbours, Not Numbers: How Local Feeds Us All In a farming system that demands more than it gives, Marie Halicki finds that relationships, not yields, nourish resilience, sovereignty, and sanity.

“There’s plenty of time to think behind the wheel of a tractor.”

In her honest & reflective letter, Marie Halicki, a young farmer from the Isère region shares her story of realism, resilience, and why feeding your neighbours matters more than feeding “la France": www.arc2020.eu/letter-from-...

The Rise of a New Grain Alliance – Germany’s Free Bakers Sow the Seeds of Change A new idea is brewing in Germany, with the first seeds sown of a new alliance along the food value chain for cereals and legumes. ARC2020’s President Hannes Lorenzen reports on how farmers, bakers, se...

A new alliance is forming in Germany - one that unites actors in an agroecological value chain from seed to bread 🌾🧑‍🌾🥖 www.arc2020.eu/the-rise-of-...

#Agroecology #SustainableFarming

LEAK: CAP Crumbles as EU Eyes Radical Post-2027 Overhaul The European Commission is preparing to tear up the architecture of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), in what could set the stage for a radical overhaul of the EU’s farming subsidy programme, acco...

🚨 Leaked drafts suggest the EU Commission is preparing to tear up the architecture of the Common Agricultural Policy, setting the stage for a radical overhaul of the EU’s farming subsidy programme.

@natashafoote.bsky.social brings us up to speed: www.arc2020.eu/leak-cap-cru...

Op-Ed | From Declaration to Action - Rethinking Rural Power in EU Policymaking | Agricultural and Rural Convention Rural voices still seem to go unheard in EU policymaking. The Rural Pact Coordination Group proposes a new tool for rural stakeholders to take the power back: the Declaration on the Future of Rural Ar...

Why do rural voices still go unheard? 🙊 #RuralPact Coordination Group proposes a tool to take the power back 💪 Op-Ed by Edina Ocsko
www.arc2020.eu/op-ed-from-d...
#E40 #SmartVillages @soledadmorales.bsky.social @rafaelamorim.bsky.social @ecolise.bsky.social @eesc.bsky.social @smeunited.bsky.social

Crafting the Collective - Tijs Boelens' Vision for a Farmer-Led Grain Revival | Agricultural and Rural Convention If we want local food systems to thrive, every link in the chain must be nurtured: seeds must be saved, farmers must earn a fair price, processors must adapt their methods—and consumers must be able t...

Dankje to Tijs Boelens & De Groentelaar farm 🌾 who grow heirloom wheat from peasant seeds that is locally brewed into beer by Belgoo 🍻 The next step in Tijs' story is a performance with the Future Farmers collective 💃
www.arc2020.eu/tijs-boelens...
#Teirf #BelgianBeer

Re-Sowing the Seeds of Connection in Switzerland, Part I - Nurturing What We Have | Agricultural and Rural Convention The Seeds4All project emerges from a Swiss immersion with a two-part reflection on how seeds can become anchoring points for rebuilding connections and fostering healthy interdependencies in the pursu...

🇨🇭 Did you know there are 4 hyper local fava bean varieties in Valais? Many thanks to Sortengarten Erschmatt, Laura Kuonen, Domaine des Dailles, Olivier Studer & Alexandra Baumgartner for our Swiss immersion 🙏 Discover part 1 of our reflection here:
www.arc2020.eu/re-sowing-th...
#Seeds4All

Op-Ed | Europe Must End The Double Standards In Toxic Pesticides Exports | Agricultural and Rural Convention A number of hazardous pesticides which are banned in the EU are freely manufactured and exported to other countries with weaker regulations, putting human health and the environment at risk. The EU al...

Just published an op-ed on this issue by Marcos Orellana and Olivier De Schutter www.arc2020.eu/europe-must-...

Op-Ed | Europe Must End The Double Standards In Toxic Pesticides Exports | Agricultural and Rural Convention A number of hazardous pesticides which are banned in the EU are freely manufactured and exported to other countries with weaker regulations, putting human health and the environment at risk. The EU al...

Op-ed by not 1 but 2 UN special rapporteurs 😮 Marcos A Orellana & @olivierdeschutter.bsky.social
www.arc2020.eu/europe-must-...
#pesticides @corporateeurope.org @eeb.org @paneurope.bsky.social @fian-international.bsky.social @fianbelgium.bsky.social @foeeurope.bsky.social @slowfoodhq.bsky.social

Goodbye Carbon Markets, Hello What Exactly? | Agricultural and Rural Convention Climate Farmers - an influential think-and-do tank focused on regenerative farming - has stepped away from Carbon Markets. This news has been making headlines since it was announced in June. So what’s...

Why have Climate Farmers stepped away from carbon markets? And what are the alternatives? @olliemoore.bsky.social spoke with @ivodegn.bsky.social
@gerrylawson.bsky.social & others in the field to find out more: www.arc2020.eu/goodbye-carb...
#carbonfarming #carbonmarkets #regenag

With all the noise in EU institutions about the need to streamline #CAP - has anyone asked a farmer? @natashafoote.bsky.social sat down with Mathieu Courgeau to tackle the famous admin burden www.arc2020.eu/this-farmer-...
@eurovia.org @confpaysanne.bsky.social @collectifnourrir.bsky.social

Serbia | Between Tradition and Transition - Regenerative Agriculture in Vojvodina | Agricultural and Rural Convention Vojvodina, the heart of Serbia’s agricultural production, is known for its fertile chernozem soils. However, intensive soil tillage methods and low rates of organic matter return raise concerns about ...

🌽 Regen ag may offer solutions to #soil degradation in #Serbia 🌻 but most farmers remain cautious about a change of approach 🌱 New ARC contributor Ladislav Luc reports on the ground
www.arc2020.eu/serbia-betwe...
#regenerativeagriculture

Congratulations! This is a powerful resource 💪

The EU’s Public Plate – An Opportunity for Food System Transformation Public procurement of food in the EU is worth billions annually – money that could help deliver healthy meals in schools, hospitals and nursing homes, while supporting sustainable agriculture, fair in...

The EU spends billions on public food each year – yet misses the chance to use sustainable procurement to drive food system transformation. Advocacy efforts are coalescing to change that. ICLEI’s (@iclei.org) Jean-Marc Louvin explains: www.arc2020.eu/the-eus-publ...

@aia-be.bsky.social @koalicjazywaziemia.bsky.social
@voedsel-anders-nl.bsky.social
@voedsel-anders-vl.bsky.social @wirhabenessatt.bsky.social
@slowfoodhq.bsky.social @foeeurope.bsky.social @organicseurope.bsky.social

We are proud to endorse this joint position paper along with 96 other orgs 💚
More in our article: www.arc2020.eu/fund-the-fut...

The EU Has the Funds but Lacks Focus - This Farm Shows What’s Possible with Both | Agricultural and Rural Convention Organic farming has long been hailed as the poster child for sustainable agriculture. But as the EU organic sector becomes increasingly industrialised, cracks are beginning to appear. How can we weed ...

EU organic farming is in crisis - what are the alternatives? 👀 Next up in our new series 🌱Adèle Pautrat & @natashafoote.bsky.social report from a French farm that's cultivating autonomy & resilience 🌽 💪 www.arc2020.eu/the-eu-has-t...
#Seeds4All #organic #diversity

The Power of Diversity & Community-Managed Natural Farming - The Future of Agriculture Comes From India | Agricultural and Rural Convention Crop diversification to improve the soil microbiome is key to the approach of the Andhra Pradesh Community-Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) movement. After soil to bread in Portugal, the Seeds4All proj...

This #zerobudget #naturalfarming model inspired by traditional practices has spread to 1 million farms in the last 10 years 🌱🍅🌽🍆🌿👩‍🌾 Benedikt Haerlin @saveourseeds.bsky.social reports from India
www.arc2020.eu/the-power-of...
#APCNF #feedthesoil #agrobiodiversity #Seeds4All

Mercosur Is Set To Sail - With Sore Points for Sustainability, Will The Deal Sink Or Swim? | Agricultural and Rural Convention After a quarter-century of talks, the EU-Mercosur trade agreement is closer than ever to the finish line. But is it a done deal, and who gets to sign off on it? How are the new more volatile geopoliti...

After a political handshake last December, #Mercosur will soon be handed over to lawmakers to seal the final deal 🤢 Can it be stopped or changed at this late stage? @olliemoore.bsky.social steers us through the choppy waters 🛳️
www.arc2020.eu/mercosur-set...
#EU #trade

EU Throws The Wolf To The Wolves | Agricultural and Rural Convention Following votes at both Council and in Parliament, the status of the wolf in Europe is being downgraded from "strictly protected" to "protected". So what's happened to conservation of this apex predat...

❗The wolf's protected status has been downgraded by the EU 🐺 What does this mean in Brussels - and for Alpine farmers? ⛰️ @olliemoore.bsky.social & Ashley Parsons report 👇
www.arc2020.eu/eu-throws-th...
@rewildingeurope.bsky.social @nabu.de
#wolf #rewilding

Letter From The Farm | Growing Food, Family, And Community | Agricultural and Rural Convention After a long break, we are happy to be back with Brîndușa Bîrhala on her homestead in the west of Romania, where she has been busy growing and nurturing farm and family. Yet she remains as keen as eve...

#LetterFromTheFarm 🌱🌱🌱 🍅🐔👶
After a long break we are so happy to be back with Brîndușa Bîrhala on her homestead in the west of Romania where she has been busy nurturing farm and family 💚 www.arc2020.eu/letter-from-...
#Agroecology #Family #Farmers #NewPeasants