A workshop on land market issues was organised in Rennes, France, by the INRA team of the Factor Markets Project on 23-24 May 2011. The 1,5 day workshop included presentations by external persons to the project (Karen Macours, from Paris School of Economics, on social matching in the tenancy market in the Dominican Republic; and Jean Cavailhes of INRA Dijon on urban influence on agricultural land prices in France), and by members of the FM project working on the Land Market workpackages. Presentations by members of the FM project related to current or past work on land market issues outside the FM project, and to advances in deliverables due in the FM project. The objective of the workshop was to share ideas on the topic of land market functioning and on agricultural land prices and its determinants, and to provde suggestions in carrying out the respective deliverables.

The OECD will present its latest evaluation of EU agricultural policy during a Seminar in Brussels, on 5 October 2011, from 10:00 a.m.
The OECD Evaluation of Agricultural Policy Reforms in the European Union includes an overview of recent and longer term developments in Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), covering both the level and composition of support. The report also analyses the impact that successive reforms have had at the aggregate and farm levels. It provides an evaluation of achievements and suggests areas for further reform.
The report will be available on the OECD’s password-protected website from 10 a.m. on Wednesday 5 October for immediate release.
OECD Evaluation of Agricultural Policy Reforms in the European Union will be presented during the CEPS Seminar, by:
- Ken Ash, head of the OECD Trade and Agriculture directorate;
- Frank van Tongeren, head of the OECD’s policies in trade and agriculture division; and
- Catherine Moreddu, OECD senior agricultural policy analyst.
Chairman: Johan Swinnen, Senior Research Fellow CEPS & Director LICOS, KULeuven
The seminar will take place in English, at CEPS Headquarters (1 Place du Congrès).
To register for the OECD briefing, journalists should e-mail media.registration@oecd.org.
For further information on the OECD briefing, journalists can contact Lawrence Speer (Lawrence.Speer@oecd.org, tel.: +33 1 4524 7970) or the OECD Media Division (news.contact@oecd.org, tel.: +33 1 4524 9700).
Requests to receive OECD Evaluation of Agricultural Policy Reforms in the European Union under embargo, by e-mail ahead of release time, or to obtain a password to access the website, should be sent to embargo@oecd.org. Journalists requesting an electronic version in advance of the release time agree to respect OECD embargo conditions.

1st Brussels High-Level Lecture on Food Security and Development
21 November 2011 @ The Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren
with speakers
DR. SHENGGEN FAN, Director General of IFPRI (The International Food Policy Research Institute), on "The State of Food Security in the World".
DR. DACIAN CIOLOS, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, on "The European Union's Role in Securing Global Food Security"
introductions by
DR. GUIDO GRYSEELS, Director of The Royal Museum for Central Africa
DR. JOHAN SWINNEN, Senior Research Fellow CEPS and Director LICOS Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance
timing
09.30 – 10.00 : Welcome & Registration
10.00 – 10.30 : Welcome Word & Introductions
10.30 – 11.30 : DR. SHENGGEN FAN
11.30 – 12.30 : EU COMMISSIONER DACIAN CIOLOS
12.30 – 12.45 : Q&A
organized by
The Royal Museum for Central Africa
CEPS The Centre for European Policy Studies
LICOS Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, University of Leuven
Participation is free of charge – Registration is mandatory, early registration is recommended as seats are limited – Lunch will be served after the Lecture
REGISTRATION: http://foodsecurity.econ.kuleuven.be

 The reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is currently unfolding. As a result of the treaty of Lisbon, the European Parliament (EP) is now co-legislator in this policy field and a lot of uncertainty remains as to how it will concretely seize this new role. What will be the impact of this change in decision-making on the outcome of CAP reform?

Speakers:
- Georges Lyon, MEP and member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
- Bas Eickhout, MEP and member of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
- Tomas Garcia-Azcarate, Adviser, economic analysis of agricultural markets, DG AGRI, European Commission
- Christophe Crombez, Professor, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, and visiting Professor, Stanford University
- Johan F.M. Swinnen, Director, Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance (LICOS - KUL) and Senior Fellow, CEPS

On Wednesday 19 September 2012, from 12.30 until 15.00 CEPS will host the launch of the 2012 OECD report: Agricultural Policies: Monitoring and Evaluation 2012.  This edition shows that after an increase in 2009, producer support in OECD area declined in 2010 and remained rather stable in 2011. In the longer term perspective the OECD estimations of support confirm the downward trend in support to farmers. As such, this report is a unique source of up-to-date estimates of support to agriculture in the OECD area and is complemented by individual chapters on agricultural policy developments in OECD countries. As the reform of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) moves forward, the launch of this report will provide the opportunity to policy makers and other participants to keep a broader perspective in mind, when discussing new forms of support to European farmers. The discussion will be followed by a press conference between 14.30 and 15.00.
Jo Swinnen, Associate Senior Research Fellow CEPS, Director LICOS
Carmel Cahill, Head of the Policies, Trade and Adjustment Division of Directorate for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, OECD
Catherine Moreddu, Senior Agricultural policy analyst, OECD
Václav Vojtech, Agricultural Policy analyst, co-coordinator of the Monitoring and Evaluation report, OECD
 

The decision to abolish wine planting rights by 2018 at the latest has generated much debate among EU wine producing member states and the EU Commission. Opponents claim that abolishing planting rights will have several negative effects, such as an undesirable restructuring and reallocation of vineyards, an increase in production and a decrease not only in the prices of wine, but also in its overall quality. Those in favor of the reform argue that the latter will benefit the sector and enhance its competitiveness.

Should the wine sector follow the same liberalization path as any other agricultural sector? In times where the overall regulation of EU agricultural markets is being discussed, it is interesting to look at the arguments defended by the potential “winners” and “losers” of the EU wine reform. This event will bring together actors of the wine sector and academics, to openly discuss the possible effects of the liberalization on the future of the EU wine production and market.

Chair:

Jo Swinnen, Senior Research Fellow CEPS and Director LICOS Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, Leuven University

Speakers:

Davide Gaeta, Professor of Wine Economics and Wine Law, University of Verona

Pasquale De Meo, Director, National confederation for voluntary consortia for the oversight of denominations of origin, Italy

Daniela Ida Zandonà, Chargée d’affaires, European Federation of Origin Wines

Josè Ramon Fernandez, Secretary General, Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins