Link to the EESC webpage - www.eesc.europa.eu/

Agricultural and rural societies have always supported the development of experiences fostering solidarity, social assistance and social inclusion in the communities in which they thrive. A growing number and great variety of social farming practices can be found in the EU-27 Member States aimed at supporting disadvantaged people in the local communities. More recently, social farming had come to the attention of an increasing range of stakeholders indicating a growing understanding of the potential role of agricultural and rural resources for enhancing the social, physical and mental well-being of people. Nevertheless, such experiences are still for most part invisible.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is currently preparing an own-initiative opinion to examine the potential added value of social/care farming, its advantages and constraints and provide, among others, an insight in the existing (and non) regulatory frameworks within which social farming initiatives are carried out.

In this context, the EESC is organising a public hearing on June 6th, 2012 with participation from the European Commission, EU research institutions and many other relevant stakeholders.

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