OECD Workshop: Designing services for rural communities

April 29, 2009

On the 11th of June the Commission for Rural Communities in the UK will be hosting an event entitled “Designing services for rural communities: the role of co-design and co-delivery”.  This 2 day workshop will focus on the special challenges of designing appropriate services and delivery mechanisms for rural areas.

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Potential impact of climate change on livestock

April 29, 2009

An alarm has sounded on how global warming could impact European livestock. Speaking to members of the Society for General Microbiology (SGM) recently, Professor Peter Mertens from the Institute for Animal Health (IAH) in the UK cautioned that ruminants  have been dealt major blows within the last decade, triggered by the rising temperatures on Earth.
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USDA to Conduct First Wide-Scale Organic Ag Survey

April 29, 2009

With a strong focus on agri-environment measures within Axis 2 of the Rural Development Programme, many of our readers may be interested in the announcment by the  United States Department of Agriculture that they are to conduct the first-ever, wide-scale survey of organic farming in the United States.

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Capacity Building Seminar

April 8, 2009

The first seminar of the European Network for Rural Development (EN RD), entitled “Capacity building for national rural networks: the challenges of national rural networks to efficiently support the implementation of EU rural development policy”, took place in Brussels on the 30th and 31st of March.
Presentations from the seminar are available here.
Background and objectives of [...]

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Adapting to climate change: Towards a European framework for action

April 6, 2009

On the 1st of April the European Commission published a white paper outlining actions needed to strengthen the Union’s resilience in coping with a changing climate.
Over the next 50 years climate change is likely to have profound effects on important economic sectors such as agriculture, energy, transport, ecosystems, tourism and health. It will also affect [...]

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Rural Development Seminar: Brussels March 2009

April 2, 2009

The Rural Development Support Unit were invited to contribute to a major EU wide seminar which brought together the National Rural Networks and Ministries as well as Agriculture and Rural Development practitioners from the 27 member states. The event was held held over two days in Brussels and commenced on March the 30th.
Commissioner Fisher Boel [...]

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