Most of the world’s farmers are engaged in small-scale agriculture. Most small farms are located in developing countries but they are found in developed countries too. In fact, the vast majority of the EU’s 10 million farms are small farms. However we define a small farm, improving the conditions of small-scale food producers is a global objective.

Small farms' role in the EU food system

De flesta av världens bönder ägnar sig åt småskaligt jordbruk. De flesta småbruk finns i utvecklingsländer, men de finns också i industriländer. Faktum är att större delen av EU:s 10 miljoner jordbruk är småbruk. Hur man än definierar småbruk så måste villkoren för småskaliga livsmedelsproducenter förbättras globalt.

De små jordbrukens roll i EU:s livsmedelssystem - svenska

Small farms make up the vast majority of the EU's 10 million farms. Recent studies have lowered past estimates of how much of the global food supply is produced by small farms. Notwithstanding the complex nature of such estimates and the possible under-estimation of small operators' production because of self consumption, it is clear that small farms allocate larger shares of their production to food and have a more diversified produce portfolio than larger farms. In addition to producing food, small farms are typically associated with protecting landscape features and biodiversity and the notion of providing public goods.

EPRS policy podcast - Small farms' role in the EU food system

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been under the limelight of so strong political and social debate that its suitability for its main original purpose of improving supply chain efficiency may come up as a surprise; but, what if, under the actual situation of stress artificial intelligence really can provide solutions for strategic sectors significantly improving their capacity to cope with pressure? More specifically, can the agri-food sector benefit from this technology to the extent of compensating for the shortages being broadly foreseen?

EPRS STOA podcast - What if AI could make the agri-food sector more resilient?

What is a smart village? The concept implies the participation of local people in improving their economic, social or environmental conditions, cooperation with other communities, social innovation and the development of smart village strategies. This concept is gaining traction on the rural development agenda, coinciding with the ongoing reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP). A key element of this reform will be a new delivery model based on each Member State developing a CAP strategic plan.

EPRS podcast - Policy: Smart villages: Concept, issues and prospects for EU rural area

With a population of around 150 million, there are more pigs than any other livestock category in the EU! The sector is supported by the Common Agricultural Policy, but it is facing serious challenges… Its negative impact on the environment, concerns about animal health and an uncertain international context need to be addressed if the sector is to become more sustainable in the future and match the EU’s green ambitions.

EPRS policy podcast - The EU pig meat sector

20 miljoner människor jobbar inom jordbruket i EU. De ser till att vi får mat på bordet. Med eller utan pandemi.

Det här är vad EU gör för jordbrukare som drabbats av covid-19-krisen

Declining yields due to warmer temperatures and less rain, biodiversity loss, increased risk of floods… the impacts of climate change on European agriculture are irrefutable… But what impact does agriculture have on climate change? And what role can it play in helping address this challenge?

EPRS policy podcast - EU agricultural policy and climate change

Föder du upp fåglar? Tillsammans med över 500 000 fjäderfäuppfödare får du stöd av EU i din verksamhet.

Det här gör EU för fjäderfäuppfödare

Visste du att mejeribranschen är EU:s näst största jordbrukssektor sett till produktionsvärdet? Mjölk produceras på gårdar i alla storlekar, från små familjejordbruk till specialiserade storjordbruk. EU:s gemensamma jordbrukspolitik stöder mejerinäringen på flera sätt. Här är några exempel:

Det här gör EU för mjölkbönder

Visste du att får- och getuppfödare är viktiga för bevarandet av Europas landskap? De måste både framställa produkter av hög kvalitet och värna om sina djur. Så här hjälper EU till.

Det här gör EU för får- och getuppfödare

Som småskalig jordbrukare skapar du jobb på landsbygden och säkrar den traditionella och lokala produktionens fortlevnad. Du är en hörnsten i det europeiska jordbruket. Så här hjälper EU dig.

Det här gör EU för småbrukare

Det mesta av vår mat produceras av EU:s 10 miljoner jordbrukare. Om du är en av dem vet du redan att man som jordbrukare ständigt måste kämpa med svängningar på marknaden, instabilt väder, växtangrepp och djursjukdomar

Det här gör EU för jordbrukare

Allt fler konsumenter efterfrågar hälsosam, färsk, ekologisk och närproducerad mat till rättvisa priser. Dessa önskemål gör det intressant för jordbrukare att sälja sina produkter direkt till konsumenterna. Här är tre exempel på vad EU gör för att hjälpa till.

Det här gör EU för jordbrukare som bedriver direktförsäljning

V njenih ustanovnih pogodbah so živali obravnavane kot čuteča bitja, kar pomeni, da jih ni dovoljeno stradati, slabo ravnati z njimi in jih zlorabljati, prav tako pa jim je treba dovoliti, da se vedejo v skladu s svojo naravo

Se borite za dobrobit rejnih živali ali pa vam je zanje mar? V tej bitki je Evropska unija vaša zaveznica že več kot 40 let in je dosegla kar veliko

Jobbar du på en spannmålsgård? Då är du i gott sällskap. I EU finns omkring 5,5 miljoner gårdar som producerar 300 miljoner ton spannmål varje år. Spannmål ingår i många basvaror, till exempel bröd och pasta, och är vår viktigaste livsmedelskälla.

Det här gör EU för spannmålsodlare

Launched on 20 May 2020, the 'Farm to Fork' strategy put forward the EU’s ambition for making its food system a model of sustainability at all stages of the food value chain.

This strategy is at the heart of the Green Deal. It addresses comprehensively the challenges of sustainable food systems and recognises the inextricable links between healthy people, healthy societies and a healthy planet. Ensuring a sustainable livelihood for primary producers, who still lag behind in terms of income, is essential for the success of the recovery and the transition.

The Farm to Fork strategy aims to accelerate our transition to a sustainable food system that should have neutral and positive environmental impact, help mitigate climate change and adapt to its impact. It should also reverse the loss of biodiversity, ensure food security, nutrition and public health, making sure that everyone has access to sufficient, safe nutritious, sustainable food, preserve affordability of food while generating fairer economic returns, fostering competitivness of the EU supply sector and promoting fair trade.

A shift to a sustainable food system can bring environmental, health and social benefits, offer economic gains and ensure that the recovery from the crisis puts us onto a sustainable path.

Farm to fork

In April 2018, the European Commission adopted a proposal on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the food supply chain.

It stems from the consensus that unfair trading practices occur in the food supply chain, with smaller operators more vulnerable to these practices due to a weaker bargaining power compared to larger operators. The proposal focuses therefore on smaller actors in the food supply chain and aims to protect them from trading practices that are imposed unilaterally. The protection covers small and medium-sized agricultural producers and other SME suppliers in the chain and imposed rules constraining the behaviour of buyers which are not SMEs.

#EUelections2019 - Helping farmers, ending unfair trading practices

MEPs review the demands of farmers and rural communities across Europe and discuss how to foster a sustainable and fairly rewarded EU agriculture in a debate with Commission Executive Vice-President Šefčovič and Belgian Foreign Minister Lahbib

Plenary debate- The situation of farmers and the prices of agricultural products

AGRI - Exchange of views with Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra on the contribution of the agricultural sector to the Union climate objectives

Press conference by Norbert LINS, Peter JAHR, Ulrike MÜLLER, and Eric ANDRIEU on the EU farm policy reform trilogues

Press Conference by Norbert Lins, Chair of the Agriculture Committee with Peter Jahr, Ulrike Müller and Eric Andrieu, rapporteurs on the EU farm policy reform: Results of trilateral talks

Press Conference by Paolo DE CASTRO, rapporteur - on Deal on €8bn recovery aid for EU farmers and food producers

Press conference by Paolo DE CASTRO, rapporteur, on “COVID-19: Financing recovery of EU farmers”

Integrated farm statistics (debate)

Implementation of CAP young farmers’ tools in the EU after the 2013 reform (debate)

The future of food and farming (debate)

Addressing farm safety in the EU (debate)

US attack on EU farm support under the CAP (in the context of Spanish olives) (debate)

State of play of farmland concentration in the EU: how to facilitate the access to land for farmers (debate) (short presentation)

Minimum standards for the protection of farm rabbits (short presentation) (debate)

Enhancing innovation and economic development in future European farm management (short presentation)

Cloning of animals kept and reproduced for farming purposes (debate)

Alleged pushbacks off the coast of Greece (Farmakonisi) that resulted in refugee deaths (debate)

Financing, management and monitoring of the CAP - European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development - Common organisation of the markets in agricultural products - Direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the CAP - Transitional provisions on support for rural development (debate)

Decision on the opening of, and mandate for, interinstitutional negotiations on direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the CAP - 2011/0280(COD) - Decision on the opening of, and mandate for, interinstitutional negotiations on common organisation of the markets in agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation) - 2011/0281(COD) - Decision on the opening of, and mandate for, interinstitutional negotiations on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) - 2011/0282(COD) - Decision on the opening of, and mandate for, interinstitutional negotiations on financing, management and monitoring of the CAP - 2011/0288(COD) (debate)

Common rules for direct support schemes for farmers - Support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development - Common organisation of agricultural markets and specific provisions for certain agricultural products - Financing of the common agricultural policy - Organic production and labelling of organic products - System of financing by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (debate)

Direct payments to farmers (debate)

AGRI - Exchange of views with Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski on the recent simplification package for farmers

EP Plenary session - Council and Commission statements - Empowering farmers and rural communities - a dialogue towards sustainable and fairly rewarded EU agriculture

EP Plenary session - Council and Commission statements - Improving the socio-economic situation of farmers and rural areas, ensuring fair incomes, food security as well as a just transition

EP Plenary session - Generational renewal in the EU farms of the future

Trilogue on FSDN (Farm Sustainability Data Network )

AGRI Public hearing on '  Energy efficiency on farms '

EP Plenary session - The role of farmers as enablers of the green transition and a resilient agricultural sector

ENVI Joint Hearing - Carbon Farming: Practical applications in use in the EU

EP Plenary session - European Citizens’ Initiative Save bees and farmers! Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment

Alexander BERNHUBER, Simone SCHMIEDTBAUER, Virginijus SINKEVICIUS,  Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries meet with a delegation from Austrian, German and Italian Alpine Farmers

ENVI-AGRI-PETI joint committee - Public hearing ' Save bees and farmers! Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment '

AGRI committee - Exchange of views with Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI, European Commissioner for Agriculture, on inflation consequences on the CAP budget

ENVI Committee - Exchange of views with Stella KYRIAKIDES, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, on upcoming proposals under the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Pharmaceuticals Package

EP Plenary session - Protection of livestock farming and large carnivores in Europe

AGRI - Hearing on ' 60 years of the CAP: how the role of European Parliament has changed '

60th anniversary of the CAP - Stockshot of a farm - Poreba Radlna, Lesser Poland region, Farmer Janusz Wzorek works on his farm

Cows, bulls, calves, sheeps, products -meat and pastas- and general views in a farm surrounded by windmills in Villers-le-Bouillet, near Liege, Belgium

Voting session: Discharge 2022 (part 1)

Closing statements of the debate on the response to the demands of farmers and rural communities across Europe and how to foster fairly rewarded EU agriculture. Closing statements by Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of the European Green Deal, Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight and Hadja LAHBIB, Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade, and the Federal Cultural Institutions.

Empowering farmers and rural communities - a dialogue towards sustainable and fairly rewarded EU agriculture: Closing statements by Hadja LAHBIB, Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ, Executive Vice-President of the EC

MEPs discuss how to respond to the demands of farmers and rural communities across Europe and how to foster fairly rewarded EU agriculture. First part of the MEPs debate.

Empowering farmers and rural communities - a dialogue towards sustainable and fairly rewarded EU agriculture: MEPs debate (part 1)

MEPs discuss how to respond to the demands of farmers and rural communities across Europe and how to foster fairly rewarded EU agriculture. Second part of the debate.

Empowering farmers and rural communities - a dialogue towards sustainable and fairly rewarded EU agriculture: MEPs debate (part 2)

MEPs discuss how to respond to the demands of farmers and rural communities across Europe and how to foster fairly rewarded EU agriculture. Round of political groups speakers.

Empowering farmers and rural communities - a dialogue towards sustainable and fairly rewarded EU agriculture: Round of political groups speakers

Following growing protests in several EU countries, MEPs discuss how to respond to the demands of farmers and rural communities and how to engage in a dialogue to preserve a sustainable agriculture. This news item shows the selection of the debate highlights of the quotes from the Belgian EU Council's presidency, European Commission and main group leaders. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Empowering farmers and rural communities: extracts from the debate

MEPs discuss how to respond to the demands of farmers and rural communities across Europe and how to foster fairly rewarded EU agriculture. Opening statements by Hadja LAHBIB, Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade, and the Federal Cultural Institutions and Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of the European Green Deal, Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight. The transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Empowering farmers and rural communities - a dialogue towards sustainable and fairly rewarded EU agriculture: Opening statements by Hadja LAHBIB, Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ, Executive Vice-President of the EC

The common agricultural policy (CAP) has three clear environmental goals, which are echoed in the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork strategy: tackling climate change, protecting natural resources and enhancing biodiversity. These goals are supported by the CAP’s promotion of organic farming and the responsible management of inputs like pesticides and fertilisers. The CAP aims to reach its environmental goals in a way that is socially and economically sustainable for farmers and rural communities. This infoclip illustrates an example of a sustainable farm in Enghien, Belgium.

Infoclip: Sustainable agriculture

MEPs debate the role of farmers in the green transition and how to ensure food security in Europe, especially in the light of the Russian aggression in Ukraine. First part of the debate.

The role of farmers as enablers of the green transition and a resilient agricultural sector: MEPs debate (part 1)

MEPs debate the role of farmers in the green transition and how to ensure food security in Europe, especially in the light of the Russian aggression in Ukraine.

The role of farmers as enablers of the green transition and a resilient agricultural sector: one round Political group leaders

MEPs debate the role of farmers in the green transition and how to ensure food security in Europe, especially in the light of the Russian aggression in Ukraine. Opening statements by Jessika ROSWALL, Swedish Minister for EU Affairs and by Mairead MCGUINNESS, European Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability, and Capital Markets Union. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

The role of farmers as enablers of the green transition and a resilient agricultural sector: opening statements by Jessika ROSWALL, Swedish Minister for EU Affairs and by Mairead MCGUINNESS, European Commissioner for Financial Services

MEPs debate on a European citizens’ initiative on phasing out synthetic pesticides and creating bee-friendly agriculture. Closing statement Mairead MCGUINNESS, European Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability, and Capital Markets Union.

European Citizens’ Initiative "Save bees and farmers! Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment": closing statement by Mairead MCGUINNESS, European Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability, and Capital Markets Union

MEPs debate on a European citizens’ initiative on phasing out synthetic pesticides and creating bee-friendly agriculture. MEPs debate (part 2)

European Citizens’ Initiative "Save bees and farmers! Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment": MEPs debate (part 2)

MEPs debate on a European citizens’ initiative on phasing out synthetic pesticides and creating bee-friendly agriculture. MEPs debate (part 1)

European Citizens’ Initiative "Save bees and farmers! Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment": MEPs debate (part 1)

MEPs debate on a European citizens’ initiative on phasing out synthetic pesticides and creating bee-friendly agriculture. Opening statements by Bas EICKHOUT (Greens/EFA,NL), ENVI; Norbert LINS (EPP,DE), AGRI; Ana MIRANDA (Greens/EFA,ES), PETI and by Mairead MCGUINNESS, European Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability, and Capital Markets Union.

European Citizens’ Initiative "Save bees and farmers! Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment": opening by Bas EICKHOUT (Greens/EFA, NL), Norbert LINS (EPP, DE), Ana MIRANDA (Greens/EFA, ES), Mairead MCGUINNESS, EU Commissioner

Improving the conditions of small-scale food producers is a global objective. Small farms make up the vast majority of the EU's 10 million farms. They allocate larger shares of their production to food and have a more diversified produce portfolio than larger farms. Small farms also play a key role in the EU's rural world. They help to maintain lively rural and remote areas, help preserve the identity of regional production, and offer employment in regions with fewer job opportunities. Yet, the pace of disappearance of small farms has been quite rapid in recent decades. They suffer most from the challenges facing the agricultural sector, such as market pressures and weather extremes, and they have to invest greater effort to engage in innovation and new technology. Restrictions: ©The material may not be edited and must be shown entirely.

EPRS - Small farms

The Committee Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) and the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI), associated with the Committee on Petitions (PETI), organise a public hearing on the European Citizens' Initiative (Save bees and farmers! Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment). Statement by Benoît BITEAU (Greens/EFA, FR), Vice-chair of AGRI Committee and extracts from the Public hearing.

Save bees and farmers! Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment - European Citizens’ Initiative: extracts from the public hearing and statement by Benoît BITEAU (Greens/EFA, FR), Vice-chair of AGRI Committee

At the start of the plenary session, MEPs commemorate the 60th anniversary of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The ceremony is taking place at an important juncture, with the war in Ukraine bringing into sharp relief how vital it is to guarantee food security, one of the CAP’s main goals. The EU adopted a substantial reform of its CAP at the end of last year, which will enter into force in 2023. Opening statements by Marc FESNEAU, French Minister for Agriculture and by Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI, European Commissioner for Agriculture and by Norbert LINS (EPP, DE), AGRI Committee Chair.

Ceremony on the 60th Anniversary of the CAP: opening statements by Marc FESNEAU, French Minister for Agriculture, Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI, European Commissioner for Agriculture and by Norbert LINS (EPP, DE), AGRI Committee Chair

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Farm to fork

#EUelections2019 - Helping farmers, ending unfair trading practices