Agricultural Policy

The farmers' protests in many European countries in early 2024 revealed the frustration of many farmers. Food prices are a key issue here since producers rarely benefit from the rise in consumer prices. Politicians are urged to create fair framework conditions.

Instead of replacing chemical fertilizers with “green” nitrogen fertilizers, African countries should reform their fertilizer policies. Dependence on fossil nitrogen fertilizers should be reduced and the transition to agroecology strengthened.

Funding climate protection through carbon certificates for soil may seem beneficial at first. However, a greater focus on soil health and supporting farmers in adopting sustainable practices would be far more effective in practice.

The widespread promotion of synthetic fertilizer as a solution to Africa’s food-security challenges is a flawed approach that has consistently failed to address the root causes of hunger and malnutrition on the continent. It is time for policymakers and stakeholders to embrace a more transparent and evidence-based approach.

By emphasizing a multi-stakeholder approach to political decision-making, international institutions have enabled corporate actors to dominate the conversation about how and what we eat. But addressing hunger and malnutrition requires a strategy that focuses on human rights and government accountability.

The German government has announced it will implement an export ban on certain hazardous pesticides. The legal opinion examines the potential scope of such an export ban and if it could be compatible with the law of the European Union as well as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) of the World Trade organization (WTO).

Small-scale beekeeping with native species is a resourceful way of tapping into local honey production alongside increasing household incomes in Southeast Asia. Finding honey bee species most suitable to the native landscape will result in more resilience.