Agriculture

The second edition of the Polish School of Agroecology was successfully held in 2024. The program enhanced participants' knowledge, empowered their engagement, and fostered networking among agroecological practitioners from Poland and other European countries.

While organic farming has a long-standing tradition in Germany, agroecology remains less known. How could a combination of the two approaches drive the urgently needed transformation of food systems? 

A research project in the Greek mountains shows what open source technologies and agroecology have in common. And why combining the two approaches could mean a better future for isolated rural regions around the world.

Geopolitics, geography and geometry can sometimes come together as a force for good. A gathering of people from European rural and urban civil society in the Polish village of Grzybów was one such moment. The event, which was spearheaded by ARC2020 and took place at the end of November, weaved together rural, urban, farming and EU perspectives to find a common thread towards a fairer, more sustainable farming and food system.

Funding climate protection through carbon certificates for soil may seem beneficial at first. However, a greater focus on soil health and supporting farmers in adopting sustainable practices would be far more effective in practice.

Healthy soils are a basic requirement for producing nutritious food, preserving biodiversity and adapting to climate change. But the condition of the soils is poor, with more than a third of the world's agricultural land being considered degraded. In the European Union, more than 60 percent of soils are now damaged - caused, among other factors, by industrial agriculture and the effects of the climate crisis such as droughts. This is outlined in the Soil Atlas 2024, published today by the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung and TMG – Think Tank for Sustainability.

Protection measures for climate, water, and biodiversity have been enshrined in EU law – in some cases, for decades. But a comprehensive legal framework for soil protection is still lacking. Previous attempts to create one have been torpedoed, while most existing policies are toothless.

The EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy was designed to ‘accelerate the transition to a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system’. It sets a range of targets to be met by 2030, underpinned by a mixture of new or revised laws, and non-legislative initiatives. As the current European Commission nears the end of its mandate, this article proposes how the next European Commission, from 2024–2029, should carry forward the goals of the Farm to Fork Strategy, and actions to meet its targets, especially as the EU is currently stalling many of its aspects in light of recent farmer protests.