30 actions to transform the Commission’s proposals into a genuine transition tool.

While the CAP reform debate is in full swing, the UK countries have been consulting on the structure and content of their future agricultural policies as part of the transition away from the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy.

Just a few days before EU Agriculture Ministers meet for the informal Council in Vienna and on the basis of the preparatory questions sent by the presidency to the delegations, the authors of this blog post identify the key elements for securing vibrant rural areas in the future CAP.

Those of us with long memories of CAP reforms know that there can be many dramas, dead ends and diversions along the way. Nonetheless, there has been a discernible direction of travel for two decades or more.

If caring for the planet starts from the ground, then caring for the planet starts with farmers and foresters and all others who manage and use Europe’s soils.

The European Commission launched its long expected Communication on ‘the Future of Food and Farming’ on 29 November. Here's IEEP's initial reaction.

RISE Foundation project outlines new thinking on the further modernisation of the CAP

Key messages from the DG AGRI Outlook conference 2016.

Sustainable Intensification of existing agricultural land to avoid further degradation of natural forest, grassland and wild areas is a logical and generally accepted concept. This article looks at a recently published report which examines in some detail what sustainable intensification should mean in the context of the already intensive agriculture of the European Union which has been associated with environmental damage. The conclusion is that the emphasis must be on sustainability, but that this concept is not well served by the lack of evidence on what are truly unsustainable practices, the multiplicity of approaches to sustainability indicators, and the lack of farm-level measures and benchmarks.