EU Rural Review | Number 17 (2013)

The concept of family farming is the recipient of much high-level political capital right now... The United Nations has declared 2014 the International Year of Family Farming, the primary aim of which is to promote, develop and strengthen all types of family-oriented agriculture - from horticulture and livestock to fisheries and forestry - as a socially valuable, economically viable and environmentally sustainable model.

In Europe, the European Commission kicked-off its contribution to the global initiative with a conference on family farming : a dialogue towards more sustainable and resilient farming in Europe and the world, which was held in Brussels on the 29 November 2013. The added value of the family farming model was underlined at an informal meeting of European Union agriculture ministers, organised by the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the EU, in September 2013. At the meeting, Vigilijus Jukna, the Lithuanian Minister for Agriculture noted that, ‘family farms play an important role in meeting the objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy and ensuring the sustainable EU agriculture sector.’ The current edition of the EU Rural Review looks at the family farming model in a European agricultural and rural development policy context, while also taking note of international aspects and - along the way - identifies some relevant examples of the model’s contribution to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.