In the past 40 years, we have lost 57% of Europe’s farmland birds. The agricultural sector's greenhouse gas emissions are through the roof. We are in a biodiversity and climate emergency. Just as pressing is the situation for farmers: in only ten years, the entire European Union lost one third of its farms.

Intensive agriculture is destroying nature and rural livelihoods.

In October last year, a majority of MEPs made the situation even worse: they voted for a destructive Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The CAP, worth more than one third of the EU budget – €387 billion over seven years – supports intensive agriculture.

The fact that the EU subsidises intensive farming is completely out of touch with the scientific reality of biodiversity collapse and climate change. It’s catastrophic, and it’s the reason why we are calling to withdraw the CAP. For farmers and nature, we need a green farming transition now.

The question is, as a movement for a green farming transition, where do we go from here? And how do we get to the sustainable future we so desperately need?

Join our full-day virtual conference on Wednesday, 17 February to discuss how to ensure a nature-friendly future for farming in the EU. The movement for a green farming transition is vast, and you will have the opportunity to speak and exchange with people from multiple spheres of society: from scientists and policy analysts to farmers and grassroots activists.

We look forward to seeing you there!

PROGRAMME

10:00 Words of welcome

by our moderator, Meera Ghani

10:15 The science: why we need a green farming transition now

• Achieving agroecology in the EU: the why and how of a credible option; by Xavier Poux, Senior research and study officer AScA, fellow researcher at IDDRI
• Billions in misspent EU Agricultural subsidies could support climate, biodiversity and equality; by Kimberly Nicholas, Associate Professor of Sustainability Science, Lund University
• How can the CAP work for both farmers and the environment? Recommendations from scientists; by Dr. Guy Pe’er, Scientist at iDiv, the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, and UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
• Systemic solutions for systemic problems: towards a Common Food Policy; by Nick Jacobs, Director, IPES-Food - International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems

11:00 Q&A

11:30 Lunch break

13:30 Afternoon welcome

13:40 Taking action: how we campaign to make farming work for people and nature

• CAP reform - EU level; by Harriet Bradley, Senior EU Agriculture and Bioenergy Policy Officer, BirdLife Europe & Central Asia
• CAP reform - national level; by Matteo Metta, Policy Analyst, Arc 2020
• #WithdrawTheCAP campaign; by Martina Comparelli, Fridays for Future, Italy
• Farmers’ perspective; by Alex Datema, President, BoerenNatuur, Netherlands
• Farmers’ perspective; by Martin Lines, Chair, Nature Friendly Farmers’ Network, UK
• Building alliances for better food and farming; by Verena Günther, Campaign Coordinator, Good Food Good Farming
• ‘Pour une autre PAC's’ advocacy and campaigning work; by Aurélie Catallo, Coordinator, Pour une autre PAC, France
• Campaigning for good food good farming in Romania; by Márta Pozsonyi, Slow Food Turda/StudCoop, Romania
• Extinction Rebellion and CAP reform; by Sommer Ackerman, XR Finland
• Online campaigning; by Annemarie Botzki, Senior Campaigner, WeMove Europe

14:40 Interactive breakout sessions

15:10 Afternoon break

15:30 From the fields to the people: Communicating about the CAP

• Communications toolkit for good food and good farming; by Ronja Dietschmann, Campaign communicator Good Food Good Farming
• Honey Kohan, Communication Manager, BirdLife Europe & Central Asia
• Thin Lei Win, Food & climate journalist, ex-Thomson Reuters Foundation

16:00 Q&A

16:30 The road ahead

by Ariel Brunner, Acting Director and Senior Head of Policy, BirdLife Europe & Central Asia

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This virtual conference will take place on Zoom. Please make sure you have installed the desktop or mobile app beforehand, so that you can join our breakout rooms and enjoy the full experience. We will give you the link to the call ahead of time.

This event is organised by BirdLife Europe & Central Asia and Good Food Good Farming.