Agriculture

Modern farming techniques were introduced to India during the Green Revolution of the 1960s to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population. However, the overuse of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, alongside the cultivation in monocultures, severely damaged soil health. In response, many farmers are moving back to alternative soil management practices. Political support for this transition is growing, but requires more flame to ignite change.

The Sahara Desert is expanding, thereby threatening millions of people’s lives and livelihoods. While many large-scale initiatives have been launched to combat desertification, most lack secure funding. Bottom-up techniques, implemented by local farmers, show how Indigenous knowledge can drive restoration. 

Vertical indoor farming enables crops to grow all year round. It requires less space and promises to reduce water, fertiliser, and pesticide use, thus protecting both climate and soil. But this must be part of a larger transformation of food systems.

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.

While thousands of farmers have been protesting for weeks on the streets across Europe, the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung – the Paris Office in collaboration with the Thessaloniki Office – organised on 12 February 2024 a timely online discussion on the causes and possible solutions to the agricultural crisis. Representatives of farmers and researchers from France, Germany and Greece outlined the situation in their countries, illustrated their demands and contributed with suggestions.

With the European elections just around the corner and the subsequent appointment of a new European Commission, the next phase of the European transition to climate neutrality is about to begin. This article touches upon some key topics and challenges that lie ahead in the near future to ensure an effective implementation of the European Green Deal (EGD).

This article reflects on the potential links between the CAP and the proposal for a European Framework for Sustainable Food Systems (SFS). This integration is challenging, but possible. Constructive interdisciplinary dialogue and pro-active cooperation at multiple-level of governance should not be replaced by time wasting, biased strategic dialogues, as is now proposed. The upcoming European elections and future of food and farming cannot inherit this logic of postponing.

Are subsidies provided to farmers in the EU generating deforestation in Brazil? Or the decline of pastoral communities in Sahel? In this article, we shed light on the CAP’s implications beyond the EU, focusing on its influence on the global trade of soya and milk products and examining its implications for local populations.