European Parliamentary Research Service Blog
agriculture
The future of crop protection in Europe
STOA’s latest foresight study, ‘The future of crop protection in the EU’, examines the environmental, societal, health and economic impact of deploying new crop protection practices in the EU. Continue reading
Plant protection products: Friend or foe of future farming?
The STOA workshop ‘Farming without agro-chemicals’, which took place on 6 March 2019, gave participants an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the impact of plant protection products (PPPs) on food production, and the perspectives of all the different stakeholders in the discussion on PPPs were explored. Continue reading
People living in mountainous regions [What Europe does for you]
Mountains cover nearly 30 % of EU territory. Highly valued for their rich natural resources, their fresh, bracing air and their beautiful landscapes, mountain areas are attractive places to live. Continue reading
Small farmers [What Europe does for you]
With European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for small farmers. Continue reading
Precision agriculture: animated infographic explains how it revolutionises farming in Europe
Precision agriculture may revolutionise the future of farming in Europe. We have developed an animated infographic to guide you through precision agriculture’s potential and the risks it poses. Continue reading
EU fertilising products [EU Legislation in Progress]
Fertilising products are used to improve plant growth, mainly in agriculture, enabling higher crop yields. However, they are associated with some challenges as regards security of supply, the environment and health. Continue reading
What if animal farming were not so bad for the environment? [Science and Technology Podcast]
Written by Lieve Van Woensel with James Tarlton, What options exist, especially in terms of new technologies, for reducing the carbon footprint of the livestock industry, how effective might they be, and what could be done to encourage their implementation? The livestock industry is responsible for around 14.5 % of global greenhouse gas emissions. The … Continue reading
Making difficult decisions in agriculture: STOA Workshop
Written by Mihalis Kritikos and Nera Kuljanic, Scientists have new technological answers to the twin challenges of limiting emissions and feeding a growing population which is simultaneously shrinking the space left for cultivation. However, these answers in turn pose their own ethical and risk management questions. Societal actors and a wide range of stakeholders have … Continue reading
What can European farming expect from new technologies?
Written by Lieve Van Woensel with James Tarlton, How will information technology revolutionise agriculture in the 21st century? That is the question investigated by a recently published study on ‘Precision Agriculture and the Future of Farming in Europe’, which was commissioned by the European Parliament’s Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA) Panel. The lead panel … Continue reading
Plant health legislation: Protective measures against plant pests [EU Legislation in Progress]
Following an evaluation of the European Union’s plant health regime, on 6 May 2013 the European Commission proposed a new regulation on protective measures against plant pests. These include regulating pests on the basis of established criteria for risk assessment and prioritising those pests with the most serious consequences. Continue reading
CAP policy instruments: Issues and challenges for EU agricultural policy [Policy Podcast]
Written by James McEldowney, Over the years, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been subject to several reforms. Often described as being incremental in nature, these reforms have progressively resulted in significant changes in both the orientation and architecture of the CAP. Key changes have included a reorientation away from price support towards income support … Continue reading
EU animal welfare strategy, 2012-2015: State of play and possible next steps
Written by Beata Rojek. In recent decades, awareness of and concern for animal welfare have been constantly growing among citizens, businesses and policy-makers. Two Eurobarometer surveys – from 2006 and 2016 – revealed its increasing resonance with public opinion. The topic has been on the EU policy agenda for over 40 years, which has helped … Continue reading
Precision Agriculture, what is it and how can it affect farming in Europe? A new study
Currently the European Parliament’s Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA) Panel is conducting a study entitled ‘Precision agriculture and the future of farming in Europe’. This Scientific Foresight study aims to identify relevant legislative pathways by mapping concerns regarding future developments in precision agriculture. The first part of the study, the technical horizon scan, has been published. Continue reading
Short food supply chains and local food systems in the EU
The current EU rural development policy 2014-2020 puts more emphasis than before on short food supply chains and defines them precisely for the first time. Producers wishing to involve themselves in local food systems can benefit from several measures co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. Continue reading
Conference on rural development in Cork, 5 – 6 September 2016
On 5-6 September 2016, the European Commission is organising a new conference on rural development in Cork, exactly twenty years after the first one. The event will bring together some 250 policy makers, academics, NGOs and other interested parties. It will provide an opportunity to discuss current and future challenges of rural areas and agriculture, and will be concluded with the presentation of a new Cork declaration. Continue reading
Will robots change the face of agriculture and food production?
Written by Lieve Van Woensel with Sarah McCormack, A study on the ‘Ethics of Cyber-Physical Systems’ has recently been published by the Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA) Panel. The study examined seven key areas, where cyber-physical systems (CPS) will have a significant impact. CPS are technical systems where networked computers and robots interact with … Continue reading
Public opinion and EU action on the environment, and agriculture: exploring the expectations gap
Written by Clare Ferguson, As over half of EU territory is rural, the vitality of the European countryside is a subject close to citizens’ hearts. The twin objectives of protecting the environment and promoting EU agriculture are thus high on the EU political agenda. A recent Eurobarometer survey demonstrates that citizens have a largely positive … Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: Common Agricultural Policy
Written by Gianluca Sgueo, Francesco Tropea and Marie-Laure Augere-Granier, With 52% of the European Union (EU) territory classified as predominantly rural, more than 170 million hectares of agricultural land, and 113 million people (nearly one quarter of the EU population) living in rural areas, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) represents one of the largest shares of expenditure from … Continue reading
Agriculture in the European Union and United States
Written by Christian Dietrich with Pieter Devuyst, The EU and the USA are currently negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), an agreement which could have major consequences for trade in agricultural products. In a document explaining the EU’s TTIP proposal on agriculture , the European Commission said that it is aimed at increasing … Continue reading
Biodiversity and agriculture
Written by Anne Altmayer, In its mid-term review of the Biodiversity strategy, the European Commission identified a continuing decline in the species and habitats associated with agriculture. It concluded that the strategy was not fulfilling expectations with regard to the contribution of agriculture and forestry to maintaining and enhancing biodiversity. Numerous studies show that agricultural … Continue reading
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