Leading by example

WHAT:

Access to land through land trust schemes

WHERE:

Europe

WHO & HOW:

In the light of competing land uses, increasing concentration in land ownership, rising land prices, and land abandonment, access to agricultural land is gaining importance in Europe. In many European countries farmer or community led initiatives have been developing to ensure organic farmers have access to land.

The European Network for Access to Land uniting several such organisations from Belgium, Spain, Italy, France, UK, Lithuania, Germany and Romania has emerged to share experiences and practical ways of assisting farmers in accessing land and engaging in good land stewardship. In their national or local contexts, the members of the network focus either on acquiring land through crowdfunding, private investments and other financial tools; engaging with local authorities to bring them to support access to land; or making arrangements with land owners willing to give access to their land with conditions that are favourable to organic growers.

Although the scale of operations of organisations vary, they all make a valuable contribution to strengthening links between rural and urban areas and freeing land from the commodity market to be preserved through sustainable agroecological management powered by local communities. The Network aims at reconsidering land as a common good where citizens, farmers and public authorities collaborate.

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Access To Land