agricultural university

9 April 2019.  Brussels. FFA2019 : The next generation . The Forum for the Future of Agriculture (FFA) has been contributing to the debate on agriculture and the environment in Brussels since 2008. The FFA is now firmly established as the premier event where agriculture and environment meet each year for an open dialogue. "There is no more time to waste. It is often said that tomorrow belongs to the next generation. Unfortunately, we have made the world in which the tomorrow is already predetermined by us – for all of them, around the world. Make no mistake, the next generation is already out there. There are hundreds of millions of them, and the vast majority lives in the developing world . They have as much right as anyone in this room to a sustainable, just, and happy life."   Janez Potočnik  Chair FFA2019, Chairman RISE Foundation  -  Read full speech Extract of the programme: OPENING ADDRESS  Ertharin Cousin,  12th Executive Director, United Nati...

2-3 April 2019 . Brussels.  The European Commission in Brussels – on behalf of the Global Network against Food Crises – hosted the high-level event on food and agriculture in times of crisis. #FightFoodCrises The high-level event: Set the scene of the current and projected situation with respect to food crises and related trends and drivers based on solid and consensus-based evidence. Highlight current and future challenges and opportunities to reduce the risks of food crises, focusing on the role of agricultural livelihoods and related agri-food systems in the framework of social, environmental, economic and security dynamics. Review policies, initiatives, tools, and coordination mechanisms currently in place to address food crises, exploring whether emerging and recurrent challenges require changes and adaptive strategies, and defining areas for improvement and innovative solutions and partnerships. Draw political, strategic and operational conclusions and define a roadmap t...

25-29 March 2019. Bilbao, Spain. The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the  Decade of Family Farming 2019-2028 on 20 December 2017 in order to improve the position of family farmers in all five (5) continents. The VI Global Conference on Family Farming is a preparatory event of the launching of the Decade, to be held in Rome weeks later . Both occasions are part of a process to build a solid, multi-stakeholder and participatory Agenda for the Decade of Family Farming. #FamilyFarmingDecade #VIConferenceWFR The objectives of the VI Global Conference are as follows: Contribute to design the official Decade Agenda for the national, regional and global levels by developing quality inputs for the Action Plan of the Decade of Family Farming. Facilitate dialogue, new partnerships and the involvement of new actors in the Decade (governments, farmers organizations, international organizations, rural associations, cooperatives, research centers, other CSOs, etc), to pro...

EDULINK, ACP Science and Technology, ACP Caribbean and Pacific Research Programme for Sustainable Development Results and impacts 2012 – 2018. © ACP Secretariat 2019, 246 pages The compendium is in both English and French This compendium presents the results of the 78 projects of the EDULINK Phase II (47), ACP Science and Technology Phase II (21), and the ACP Caribbean and Pacific Research Programme for Sustainable Development (10), with the first project having started in August 2012 and the last having finished in October 2018. From the 287 involved institutions, 198 originated from 45 ACP countries.  The results achieved over these six years and the impacts envisaged, some of which have already been realised, present an interesting insight into the effectiveness of the wide variety of initiatives financed by the three programmes. They vary from new curricula and courses to national action plans, electronic platforms and databases within the fields of agriculture, energy, water...

6-7 March 2019.  Brussels. Ag-Press.eu seminar. Outcome of the  Task Force Rural Africa , jointly conducted by the European Commission’s Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development and the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development. Strengthening the EU's partnership with Africa: a new Africa-Europe alliance for sustainable investment and jobs Task Force for Rural Africa's report © European Union, 2019 - 72 pages Factsheet on the Task Force's recommendations Established to advise on how best to develop Africa’s agriculture and food sectors and its rural economy, the Task Force Rural Africa presented its final report and recommendations. Key recommendations of the Task Force. Improving the access to private finance for small and medium size agriculture and food businesses,  mainstreaming environmental sustainability  and promote climate action and bringing together European and African expertise for agriculture and rural developme...

26 February 2019. Brussels. The Contribution of Organic Agriculture to the SDGs: Scientific evidence from comparative research” Led by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), the workshop was hosted by the European Commission. It aimed to stimulate debate on the role of organic agriculture and other agro-ecological approaches in the European and international development policy frameworks in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Presentations on the latest scientific evidence produced by FiBL researchers on the performance of organic agriculture in tropical and sub-tropical climate zones in terms of productivity, economic viability, environmental soundness and social inclusiveness. A scientific panel discussion with representatives from leading research institutes. A policy panel discussion with representatives from the European Commission, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the European Parliamentary Alliance on the Fi...

18 December 2018.  Brussels. at the DEVCO InfoPoint.  Coffee: Behind the success story . Can coffee production still be sustainable in times of climate change and price crisis? Presentation of the main results of a recent study which analyses the evolution of value distribution within the coffee sector, evaluates the social and environmental impacts generated along the chain, and estimates the hidden costs offset on public authorities and third parties. This analysis is based on detailed case studies of value chains between France (on the consumption side) and Colombia, Peru and Ethiopia (on the production side) . Discussion wase followed by a debate on what kind of public policy measures could be put in place. Introduction:  Regis Meritan , Head of Sector - Agricultural Growth, DEVCO C1 - Rural Development, Food Security, Nutrition Christophe Alliot , BASIC, (Bureau for Appraisal of Social Impacts for Citizen information) Julie Stoll , Director of Com...

17-18 December 2018.  Vienna, Austria.   High-level Forum Africa-Europe: ‘’Taking Cooperation to the Digital Age’’   Programme More information on the event https://www.eu2018.at/calendar-events/political-events/africaeurope2018.html This meeting was attended by the President of the Republic of Rwanda, Paul Kagame , as the current chairperson of the African Union, and the Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, Sebastian Kurz , as Austria holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, and African and European heads of state or government, CEOs of major global companies as well as innovative entrepreneurs and stakeholders. The high‑level forum’s leitmotif “Taking cooperation to the digital age” promoted innovation and digitalisation as important enablers for our future development, so that everyone can benefit from the ongoing digital transformation. A lot of innovation is happening both in Africa and in Europe , with many creative start‑ups providing so...

29 November 2018.  Brussels, Belgium. InfoPoint Lunchtime Conference:  "Linking research to policies and practices:experiences on pastoralism in Eastern Africa." Watch the video of the conference https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/news-and-events/linking-research-policies-and-practices_en What recent policy processes are ongoing in the East African region promoting and securing rangelands and pastoralism and how can scientific research feed into these policy processes? This is the question this Infopoint lunch-conference aims to answer by focusing on East Africa and Ethiopia in particular. Join this interesting exchange between researchers and civil society representatives. Introduction: Willem Olthof , Deputy Head of Unit, DEVCO Unit C.1 – Rural Development, Food and Nutrition Security European Parliament, MEP Maria Heubuch , Greens/EFA Peter Ken Otieno - Technical Coordinator, RECONCILE, Kenya Francesco Staro - Anthropologist, University of Paris 8 - Saint Denis, France...

27 November 2018.  Brussels, Belgium. InfoPoint Lunchtime Conference:  e-Weather/e-Climate Information Services for Sustainable Development in Africa Increasing agricultural productivity, profitability and resilience to climate change while ensuring food security all requires access to reliable, customized, and consistent information including weather forecasts, early warning of extreme weather events and agronomic advisory services. This InfoPoint will show-case two EU Horizon 2020 funded projects and the work of Kenya's Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization (KARLO) in harnessing advanced remote sensing technologies (e.g. EU Copernicus satellite weather/climate data) and in-situ sensing technologies, both combined with mobile technologies to support climate-smart agriculture effectively and ensure food security in a changing climate. Meropi PANELI  Senior Policy Officer, DEVCO C6, Sustainable Energy & Climate Change, European Commission Frank OHENE ANN...

22 November 2018 . Brussels. European Parliament.  Farmers fighting climate change in developing countries. Farmers Fighting Poverty provides support and services aiming at strengthening organisational functioning, reinforcing organisational core competences and enhancing an organisation’s position in agro-food value chains. Farmers’ organisations have four main Organisational functions: Representing members’ interests  Economic activities, often in cooperative form  Technical activities such as advice and training for farmers  Delivering public goods such as natural resource management, environmental protection etc.  Core competences Agri-agencies categorise competence-related challenges under four headings: Ensuring the full commitment of members, board, management and staff  Providing economic and representation services to members  Networking and attracting resources  Adapting and innovating. Background AgriCord is a non-profit development a...

31 October 2018 . Brussels. Launch of the EU Policy brief: Programming Research and Innovation for Improved Impact. Multi-actor research with ex-ante assessment, which is beginning to be applied in EU programmes, can foster development impact when conducted within a right enabling environment. This was concluded by the SCAR Strategic European Working Groups ARCH , AKIS and  SCAR Food Systems on October 31, 2018 at a joint launch of the Policy Brief in Brussels. The Policy Brief “Programming Research and Innovation for improved impact ” was written based on discussions and conclusions from a jointly held workshop in Rome on 6thApril 2018 and was presented to the meeting participants. The Policy Brief was launched with the main aim to identify a way forward which will allow better use of the Brief by the EC and also Member States in terms of research agendas and policy issues. DG RTD sees it as its role to show what involvement of farmers, business etc. means. Facilitating imp...

13 November 2018 . Brussels. DevCo InfoPoint Lunchtime conference.  Empowering stakeholders in rural development/agriculture .  The Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) is a multilateral partnership of equals that pools financing for country-led priorities, competitively channels funds through its implementing partners, and de-risks investments to unlock the private sector, all to realize SDG2. The presentation featured almost 10 years of analytical evidence of the Program's outcomes and impact in Africa and other places regarding GAFSP’s flexible mix of public and private sector investments along the agricultural value chain helping to create jobs, respond to climate change, leverage private sector finance, and address the root causes of migration. The GAFSP Steering Committee has agreed to carry out a major replenishment - $1.5 billion over five years -in 2019. The next call for proposals will be launched in January 2019 . Introduction: Leonard Mizzi Head...