This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Parliament has adopted its mandate for talks with member states about new rules aimed at restoring balanced power relations in the agri-food supply chain. The amendments to the current common agriculture policy laws aim to strengthen the contractual position of farmers and thus stabilise […]MEPs back changes to strengthen farmers’ position in the food supply chain
October 10, 2025 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Parliament has adopted its mandate for talks with member states about new rules aimed at restoring balanced power relations in the agri-food supply chain. The amendments to the current common agriculture policy laws aim to strengthen the contractual position of farmers and thus stabilise […]Parliament approves new tariffs on Russian and Belarussian agricultural good
May 23, 2025 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. MEPs backed increased tariffs on fertilisers and certain Russian and Belarusian agricultural goods on Thursday, seeking to reduce EU dependency on those imports. Plenary has endorsed the Commission proposal to increase by 50% EU tariffs on agricultural products from Russia and Belarus that were […]Commission simplifies Common Agricultural Policy to support farmers and enhance competitiveness
May 15, 2025 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. To simplify the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and boost farmers’ competitiveness, the European Commission is presenting today a large package of measures targeting the administrative burden, controls, implementation, crisis response and investment needs of the sector. The changes could save up to €1.58 billion […]Farmers must be at the heart of biodiversity action
February 26, 2025 by Leave a Comment
This article is published in association with United Nations. “Without the farmers, it is only political policy without implementation” – that was the stark message delivered by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Director-General on Tuesday to delegates attending the latest round of UN biodiversity talks in Rome. Over 150 countries will be meeting from 25 […]Commission allocates €99 million in emergency support to farmers in Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia and Hungary
February 20, 2025 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, Member States gave a positive opinion to the Commission proposal to mobilise €98,6 million from the agricultural reserve to directly support farmers in Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia and Hungary who have been impacted by exceptional adverse climatic events and natural disasters since spring […]Commission finds Estonian State aid to agricultural company Tartu Agro AS to be incompatible State aid
November 26, 2024 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has concluded that by renting agricultural land at a rate below market price to Tartu Agro AS, an Estonian private company producing among other things milk, meat and cereals, Estonia granted support not in line with EU State aid rules. Estonia […]EIB to support flood recovery projects across the EU and provide new financing for farmers
November 7, 2024 by Leave a Comment
This article is published in association with European Investment Bank. The European Investment Bank (EIB) will finance recovery and reconstruction in regions affected by the recent devastating floods, and significantly step up its support for Europe’s farmers. More specifically, the EIB’s Board of Directors: “The European Investment Bank has moved quickly to speed up financial support […]Commission approves €1 billion Italian State aid scheme to support farmers affected by floods and landslides
October 10, 2024 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €1 billion Italian scheme to support farmers affected by flood and landslide events in certain regions of Italy. The Italian measure Italy notified the Commission of its plans to introduce a €1 billion […]Commission clarifies support for farmers in case of exceptional weather events
May 31, 2024 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the Commission adopted a Communication clarifying the use of force majeure and exceptional circumstances for the EU agricultural sector in case of unforeseeable and extreme weather events. By clarifying the legal interpretation of this concept, the Commission aims to provide certainty for affected […]Memo on the Commission’s package of support to EU farmers
March 19, 2024 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Delivering on its commitment to ease administrative burden for EU farmers, the European Commission has today proposed to review certain provisions of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) related to conditionality and CAP Strategic Plans. These proposals aim to reduce the burden related to controls for EU […]The European Commission invites farmers to participate in online survey on simplification
March 8, 2024 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. As announced in its proposals to reduce the burden weighing on farmers’ shoulders, the Commission is launching today an online survey to gather directly the views of EU farmers. The survey is open from 7 March to 8 April, and will ask short questions, available in all […]Study confirms that EU trade opens new commercial opportunities for EU agri-food exporters
February 22, 2024 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. A study assessing the potential impact of ten free trade agreements (recently concluded or currently under negotiation) confirms that the EU trade approach opens new commercial opportunities for EU agri-food exporters. Engaging in preferential trade relations diversifies import sources, thus improving the resilience of […]Commission proposes to allow EU farmers to derogate for one year from certain agricultural rules
February 1, 2024 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Commission proposes to allow EU farmers to avail of derogations for the year 2024 from Common Agricultural Policy rules obliging them to keep certain areas non-productive. The Commission’s proposal, sent today to Member States who will vote on it in a […]Why life for millions of smallholder farmers rests on a new EU directive
November 8, 2023 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Alan McClay, CEO, Better Cotton The ordered streets of Brussels may feel like a million miles from the cotton fields of India or the cocoa plantations of Ghana, but smallholder farmers in countries like these could stand to […]Five reasons the private sector should invest in the potential of smallholder farmers
June 30, 2023 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Michael van den Berg, ACT Fund Investment Director, Common Fund for Commodities Food commodity speculation has a negative impact on the world’s most vulnerable and is driving up hunger and global food insecurity.Many of those who are most […]MEPs demand an EU food security plan and more resources for farmers
June 15, 2023 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. The EU must strengthen its food security, autonomy and resilience of its farming sector in the light of COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s war against Ukraine, and climate change. In a resolution, adopted on Wednesday by 447 votes to 142 and 31 abstentions, Parliament says the […]“Save bees and farmers!”: One million signatures in European Citizens’ Initiative signals EU co-legislators to keep environmental ambition
April 6, 2023 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the Commission is responding to the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “Save bees and farmers! Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment”. The Commission welcomes the initiative and acknowledges the importance of the ECI, in particular as the interlinked crises of climate change, pollution […]Small-scale farmers feed the planet. They should not be overlooked in our fight against climate change
November 7, 2022 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Alvaro Lario, President, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Small-scale farmers feed two out of every three people on the planet, but they are struggling with climate change, inflation and other external shocks. COP27 is an opportunity to […]Using the sun to keep agricultural produce cool? How Ghana’s farmers are benefiting from solar-powered cold storage
September 21, 2022 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Victoria Masterson, Senior Writer, Formative Content Finding ways to store freshly harvested fruit and vegetables is a big problem for smallholder farmers in Ghana in West Africa. Produce can rot quickly in outdoor temperatures, and transporting it to […]3 ways technology can enhance training for unconnected farmers
February 23, 2022 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Dave Hale, Director of TechnoServe Labs, TechnoServe The scope and scale of digital transformation has meant that remote training is being increasingly adopted.Levelling the playing field for unconnected farmers to access training tools can be done by digitally […]This start-up is using blockchain to help smallholder farmers prosper
May 28, 2021 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Natalie Marchant, Writer, Formative Content Many workers in emerging economies are unbanked because they can’t prove their existence in the supply chain.A US-based start-up wants to help by using blockchain to give everyone access to their work history.BanQu’s […]Why we all need farmers to have access to better seeds
March 23, 2021 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Michael Keller, Secretary General, International Seed Federation We need to incentivize innovation, alleviate market inefficiencies, and protect vital genetic resources to combat global hunger. Too few of the world’s farmers can access improved, quality seeds, which offer higher […]
Quality coffee can boost local economies and benefit farmers – here’s how
August 4, 2020 by 1 Comment
This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Guillaume Le Cunff, CEO, Nestlé Nespresso S.A. Supporting the sale of high-quality coffees can help restore livelihoods in regions hit hard by conflict and climate change. Training can be key in helping farmers maximize sustainable farming practices, and […]New state aid rules: Commission increases national support to farmers up to €25,000
February 25, 2019 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The ceiling for national support to farmers will rise significantly, allowing greater flexibility and efficiency, notably in times of crisis and situations demanding a swift response by the public authorities. Today the Commission has adopted revised rules on state aid in the agriculture sector […]The Brexit factor in the US-China trade war and other conflicts
September 10, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Last Friday, the American President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One threatened China with new tariffs on $267 billion of goods heading for the US markets, on top of the $200bn worth of Chinese exports Washington currently is ready to punish with extra levies. The US has already imposed extra tariffs on $50bn of Chinese […]Drought in Europe: Commission presents additional measures to support farmers
September 3, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. In light of the difficulties faced by European farmers affected by drought this summer, the European Commission continues acting to provide practical support to the sector. Additional flexibility will be granted to help farmers provide sufficient feed to their animals. The European Commission presented […]The US-Mexico trade deal a threat for others, Trump to single out China, Europe
August 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between US, Mexico and Canada is reborn. It was discarded and denounced by the American President Donald Trump since the first days of his campaign to conquer the White House, and now it returns almost undamaged, just under another name. Last Monday, after more than one year of […]Big data is coming to agriculture. Farmers must set its course
June 27, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you thanks to the strategic cooperation of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Achim Walter, Professor of Crop Science , ETH Zurich The industrialization of agriculture began some 100 years ago. We are now witnessing its digitalization. But a wave of big data may sweep farmers off their land, unless they […]
