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The study aims, first, to provide the European Parliament with an overview of the challenges faced by the agricultural sector regarding the evolution of climate extreme events in the European Union. Then, the study highlights existing solutions to help farmers mitigate the effects of extreme weather events and recover from climate-related disasters. Finally, it analyses existing policy instruments supporting these solutions, including those promoted by Member States under the new CAP programming ...

This At a glance note summarises the study aiming, first, to provide the European Parliament with an overview of the challenges faced by the agricultural sector regarding the evolution of climate extreme events in the European Union. Then, the study highlights existing solutions to help farmers mitigate the effects of extreme weather events and recover from climate-related disasters. Finally, it analyses existing policy instruments supporting these solutions, including those promoted by Member States ...

People in the EU consume millions of tonnes of meat, fish, eggs, and dairy products every year. Animal products, which many consider essential for a balanced and nutritious diet, account for more than a third of the EU's total agricultural output, and are an integral part of Europe's rich and diverse gastronomic culture. Meeting the high demand for nutritious and affordable products of animal origin is a key task of the EU's agricultural sector, which employs millions across all Member States. However ...

In June 2021, the European Commission unveiled its vision on how to boost the development of the EU's rural areas by 2040. The European Parliament decided to draw up an own-initiative report on the issue. The report by Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) is due for a plenary vote in December.

The 'farm to fork' strategy is a roadmap to build a sustainable European Union (EU) food system, in line with the aims of the European Green Deal. Launched in May 2020, the strategy includes initiatives that are progressing at different speeds, within a lively political debate on the strategy's objectives and priorities. The EU institutions are helping to shape the various elements of the strategy. This is an update of an 'at a glance' note published in May 2021.

Besides huge human losses and destruction, Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine – the 'breadbasket of Europe' – has triggered energy and food supply challenges, exacerbating existing food systems vulnerabilities, already weakened under the effect of climate change and the COVID 19 pandemic. Fears of an unprecedented global food crisis similar to, or even worse than, the 2007 2008 crisis have mounted, magnifying ripple effects for security, migration and political instability. The supply shock ...

To finalise the overhaul of the EU agricultural statistics framework, the European Commission has proposed new rules on collecting data on the input and output of agriculture and related activities, including on farms' use of agro chemicals. The European Parliament is set to vote in plenary on the first-reading agreement during October.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been the subject of such strong political and social debate that the question of its suitability for its main original purpose – improving supply chain efficiency – may come as a surprise. What if AI really could help strategic sectors cope with pressure? More specifically, could the agri-food sector benefit from this technology to compensate for the shortages broadly forecast as a result of today's crises?

Most of the world's farmers are engaged in small scale agriculture. The majority of them are in developing countries but there are many in developed countries as well. Small farms make up the vast majority of the EU's 10 million farms. What constitutes a small farm depends on the context. However, improving the conditions of small-scale food producers is a global objective. Recent studies have lowered past estimates of how much of the global food supply is produced by small farms. Notwithstanding ...

Pesticides and their use are regulated at EU level. Directive 2009/128/EC ('SUD') of the European Parliament and the Council establishes a framework to achieve sustainable use of pesticides that are plant protection products, by reducing the risks and impact of pesticide use on human health and the environment, and promoting the use of integrated pest management and of alternative approaches or techniques such as non-chemical alternatives to pesticides. A recent ex-post evaluation by the European ...