Verena Ringler’s Post

Exciting news for Europe's soil health: The EU Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience is progressing. With 60% of soils in Europe degraded, this directive aims to regenerate our soils and secure a healthier future for both agriculture and biodiversity. Healthy soils are the foundation of resilient ecosystems and productive farming, playing a pivotal role in climate change mitigation and ensuring food security. Only few steps left for this directive to become a reality, and we are hopeful this will lead to major funding for soil regeneration and regenerative agriculture in Europe. 👉At Futureco Bioscience, we are committed to improving soil health with #Genomaat, our cutting-edge platform that combines agronomic, physical, chemical, and metagenomic data to provide a functional map of the #SoilEcosystem together with tailored #biological solutions for improved crop management and increased productivity. This directive marks a significant step towards healthier soils in Europe, and we believe it will be crucial for developing a more sustainable global agricultural system. #SoilHealth #RegenerativeAgriculture #ClimateAction #Biodiversity #Sustainability #SoilRegeneration #SustainableAgriculture #RegenerativeAgriculture #SustainableEurope #biologicals

Uzbekistan should do that too

Uzbekistan should do that too

A little policy tale with a potential happy ending. 60% of our soils in Europe are degraded, leading to reduced productivity, biodiversity loss, and increased vulnerability to climate change, tendency rising. This is ultimately threatening food security in Europe and has led to the first European politicians waking up and kickstarting the EU Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience. The goal of the directive is to have all soils in Europe in a healthy condition by 2050. If adopted this would mean major funding for regeneration of soils and the way to get there would, of course, be regenerative agriculture. So this is a vital directive for the regenerative agriculture movement in Europe. Now, for a directive to pass, it has to go through several steps. It was first proposed by the European Commission in July 2023. Then, it moved to the European Parliament, which adopted it in April 2024. Then it moved to the Council of the EU for further discussion and approval before it can be formally adopted. The EU Council adopted it during its meeting on June 17, 2024 and now it moved back to the European Parliament for the second last step. The EP voted on this on Monday evening and if approved then the last step is “interinstitutional negotiations” between the different EU institutions for final adoption. The problem is we had recent elections in Europe and with it came a new EU parliament with a strong EPP, the center right party, that was positioned against the adoption of this directive. In the last weeks a coalition of private and public actors, farmers and us at Climate Farmers were contacting members of the EPP urging them to adopt the directive and outlining why this would make sense. With the end result that we were able to change their position. The EPP voted in favor of the directive and it passed. For me, this was incredibly good news on Monday evening and an important sign that we all have the power to influence politics when working together. It is a good reminder that we have to continue raising our voices, because at least sometimes politicians listen and do the right thing.

Wow - we're giving our soils and our climate a real chance to rebound within our lifetime.. It is moving to see this kind of policy emerge, giving the rest of the world a blueprint and language around how regenerative practices and soil health principles can shape future legislation.. Yet, what energizes me most here is the fact that Philippe Birker, farmers and the Climate Farmers team changed the course of this legislation through dialogue with the opposition. Here in the US, the amount of charge or tension dominating just about all political issues - creates a dynamic with no dialogue at all. To know that meaningful conversation between opposing sides led to the adoption and next steps of this policy proves that the diversity of ideas that dialogue brings is an incredibly powerful tool to cultivate richer, more resilient outcomes - much like in our soil. Ultimately, this may change the course of humans on earth.

The European Parliament's recent legislative steps (April 2024) mark a pivotal turn towards securing the health of our soils by 2050. This resolution underscores the urgent need to reduce soil degradation and improve soil management across the EU. At Agricarbon, we recognise that the journey to 2050 begins with practical, measurable actions today. Our services are tailored to empower farmers, policymakers, and businesses to effectively track and enhance their soil carbon stocks, aligning with the EU's sustainability goals. Why is this crucial? Healthy soils are the backbone of a resilient agricultural sector, essential for food security, biodiversity, and combating climate change. By quantifying soil organic carbon, farmers can adhere to environmental standards and open avenues for economic incentives to steward the land. This week, the Agricarbon team are attending events in Amsterdam (with the Cool Farm Alliance) and Copenhagen (with the Dairy Innovation Strategies Conference) to discuss ongoing developments within the industry alongside our European colleagues. Want to know more? Please get in touch with Kim ten Wolde. (Additional information about the legislation is available in the comments below.) #Soil #soilcarbon #agriculture #farming #soilhealth #soilscience

 🌱 The Future of EU Agriculture: A Strategic Dialogue 🌱 Agriculture is at a crossroads in Europe, facing challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, and the pressure to transition toward more sustainable practices. In response, the European Commission has launched the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture—an initiative designed to reshape Europe’s agri-food systems over the next decade. This report outlines a path for greater sustainability, resilience, and cooperation across the food value chain. At CinSOIL, we’re committed to being part of this transformation. Our innovative solutions are designed to align with the core principles outlined in the report, focusing on sustainable practices, enhancing farmers’ positions in the value chain, and leveraging technology to drive impactful change. 🌿💡 We invite you to explore more about the Strategic Dialogue, its key recommendations, and CinSOIL’s role in fostering sustainable agriculture in our latest blog post! 👇 🔗 Read the full blog here: https://lnkd.in/emXtY68V Photo: Vincenzo Malagoli on pexels #SustainableAgriculture #ClimateAction #RegenerativeFarming #Biodiversity

Hear, hear: over boeren én natuur als twee kanten van dezelfde medaille 👇🏻 "But it must be clear that the motivation to save nature is not only to fight biodiversity loss and climate change. It is also motivated by the need to save agricultural productivity." "To save food production on our planet, we must also save space for nature. Farmers are at the nexus of this challenge, because they are the custodians of land, which supports biodiversity AND provide us with food." "Policies like the EU restoration law could be vital as we strive to save nature, and secure agricultural productivity across Europe. But these policies will only work if they are built alongside farmers, to empower them to be the heroes we all need them to be. If governments can provide the right incentives, they can empower farmers to create a world where people and nature can thrive together." Source: 👇🏻

The European Commission is prepared to ease environmental requirements in the Common Agricultural Policy, providing Member States with more leeway to define sustainable farming practices and making some of the obligations voluntary. This dangerous move would remove biodiversity and soil protections, and practices that help reduce dependency on pesticides.   This plan goes against all available science and the long-term interests of society, healthy food systems and farmers. Hundreds of billions of public money will be channelled towards unsustainable agriculture practices.   Our research clearly highlights that sustainability and resilience go hand in hand. For more evidence see: 1️⃣ Our work on nature restoration and food system resilience and opportunities for farmers and land managers 👇 ✔https://lnkd.in/dt2bp5ef ✔ https://lnkd.in/eDV24q7T 2️⃣ Review of the impacts of environmental degradation (climate change, biodiversity loss and soil erosion) on EU food production 👇 https://lnkd.in/eR_f3tHc      3️⃣ Our CAP post-2024 vision, shows that a different political agenda that sets a long-term vision and reforms the CAP’s governance is needed 👇 https://lnkd.in/esaAGcnV   Harriet Bradley #CommonAgriculturePolicy #SustainableFood #Biodiversity #SustainableAgriculture #NatureRestoration #FoodResilience #soilhealth

Europe's food and farming systems stand at a crossroads, facing mounting challenges from environmental degradation to geopolitical turmoil. The Strategic Dialogue, initiated by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, brought together 29 key stakeholders from across Europe—farmer unions, consumer group, environmental NGOs, and business leaders—to shape a common vision for the future of agriculture. Over the course of seven months, this diverse group worked to address the pressing challenges facing the sector, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. The Strategic Dialogue provides a clear roadmap for the future of European agriculture. Next week, Agriculture Ministers will meet to discuss the future of a "farmer-focused post-2027 Common Agricultural Policy." With the work of the Strategic Dialogue already offering a comprehensive vision, the task for ministers is clear: they need to embrace this plan and take decisive steps to put it into action. The worst thing ministers can do is making superficial changes and continuing to lock farmers into an unsustainable business as usual system. Farmers and society are grappling with serious, interconnected challenges, from the impacts of climate change to ecosystem breakdown, that require bold, transformative policies. Simply tweaking the current system will not be enough. To ensure the resilience of our farming communities and protect the planet for future generations, ministers must commit to the fundamental changes outlined in the Strategic Dialogue. #NoNatureNoFood #EUagriculture #farmersprotests2024 Ariel Brunner