Seminar Semi-subsistence farming in the EU

"Semi-subsistence farming in the EU: current situation and future prospects" The event has been re-scheduled for 13-15 October 2010, and will take place in Sibiu, Romania.

OPEN CALL for registration
Participation to the seminar is open and all those who wish to attend are invited to fill in the registration form available here.

Please note that:

•registrations will be accepted on first-come-first serve basis and will be closed when the expected number of participants is full. Therefore it is important to note that registration does not mean the place is guaranteed, and no travel or accommodation arrangements should be made before receiving a confirmation.
•the travel and accommodation are at participant's own cost
and have to be arranged by the participants themselves.
Content of the seminar
The main aim of the seminar is to assess the current situation regarding policies directed towards semi-subsistence farms in the EU-27, together with the challenges, needs and prospects they face, highlighting also their contributions to the rural environment and society.

The seminar will be attended by approximately 150 participants and the discussions are expected to contribute to a better understanding of the profile of semi-subsistence farmers needs and opportunities; and how semi-subsistence farms interact in society and with the environment. The results of the work are expected to contribute to a better targeting of rural policy interventions in different types of contexts.

Much of the seminar will be dedicated to in-depth parallel workshop sessions covering the following topics: semi-subsistence farming concepts and key issues, including understanding the meaning of the term in different Member States;

•wider implications of semi-subsistence farming for society and the environment, the delivery of environmental
•benefits, social issues including semi-subsistence farms as a social ‘safety net’;
•pathways for semi-subsistence farms, opportunities for and constraints to integration into the food chain,
•restructuring patterns for semi-subsistence farms and the potential importance of non-agricultural activities;
•the relevance of rural development policy instruments to semi-subsistence farms, EU rural development policy mechanisms available, how the available policy instruments are used in Member States and the impact of rural development policy on those farms;
•networking and semi-subsistence farming.

More information about the seminar can be found on: http://enrd.ec.europa.eu/index.cfm?ABFF6733-D546-40A6-BA93-F165DB3C20F9