The circular economy of Italian farmers to produce clean electricity
A group of Italian farmers, who are stakeholders in the biogas company Alfalfa Energia, are using crops to create electricity through the process of anaerobic digestion. According to famers involved in the process, this practice is good for the environment and has an economic added-value as long as there are investments and feedstock availability. Following the circular bioeconomy […]
The future of the CAP
At the beginning of June, the European Commission presented its proposals for the future of the CAP (common agricultural policy) and EU food and farming system. For the next multiannual financial framework, going from 2021-2027, the Commission proposed a reduction of around 5% for CAP funding. The proposals are based on 9 objectives, with an […]
A new troubled EU budget
The European Commission unveiled its proposal for the future of the EU Budget: the Multi-annual Financial Framework for 2021-2027 with a €1,135bn budget. Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the Commission, presented the communication as “an opportunity to shape our future as a new, ambitious Union of 27 bound together by solidarity”, a pragmatic and long-term strategy. However, […]
A ban against unfair trade practices in the food supply chain
The EU commission unveiled its proposal for the protection of farmers and SMEs, which are often lacking bargaining power in the food supply chain. The initiative addresses unfair trading practices, as late payments from retailers, unilateral or retroactive changes to contracts and last minute cancellations for the order of perishable food products. According to the […]
Strength from division? The merger DowDuPont will split into three separated companies
DowDuPont is a merger from two companies, Dow Chemical and DuPont that came together on August last year (for 18 to 24 months), bringing together three business (DuPont Pioneer, DuPont Crop Protection, and Dow AgroSciences) in agriculture, material science and specialty products. The aim of the merger was to ‘create a world-class agriculture leader with […]
Future of CAP: a non-centralised system?
The European Commission is planning to change the current system of the CAP, the Common Agricultural Policy, which absorbs a 40% of the total EU budget. The new system should rely on the principle of subsidiarity, rather than a centralised system as it is currently happening. Traditionally, the countries receive direct payments to farmers, that being […]