ABJA - BVLJ

15/10/2024

BVLJ-ABJA members Mark Wulfranke, Melanie Epp and Ruben De Keyzer were present in Baschi, Italy for the European Network of Agricultural Journalists (ENAJ) annual general meeting.

The group of nearly 40 agricultural journalists from across the European Union was welcomed by the organising committee of the Italian Guild of Agricultural Journalists. Baschi mayor, Damiano Bernardini, was also there to welcome the group. He often joined in as they visited beef, saffron, wine and sheep producers. The group finished each day with a sampling of the spectacular food and drink of the region.

This year was an election year and as such ENAJ elected a new Management Committee, to be led by newly elected chairwoman Yanne Boloh.

After 13 years of service to ENAJ, co-founder Jef Verhaeren stepped down. His dedication and energy will be greatly missed. Melanie Epp was elected as a new member of the Management Committee representing Belgium.

The management committee is also follows: Yanne Boloh (FR), Lisa Bellocchi (IT), Vedran Stapic (HR), Katharina Seuser (DE), Adrian Krebs (CH), Melanie Epp (BE), Rachel Martin (IRE), and Klaus Hartikainen (FI).

"I am extremely honoured to have the trust of ENAJ delegates with my colleagues on the Management Committee. We will be committed to following the path of the founders’ vision about EU and EFTA ag journalists," the new chairwoman said.

A huge thank you to Lisa Bellocchi and Simona Maggi for creating a diverse and interesting programme, and for managing such a large group with grace and geniality.

12/10/2024

BVLJ-ABJA members Jozefien Verstraete and Melanie Epp were among the 12 journalists selected to participate in IFAJ’s Exposure-4-Development (E-4-D) tour in Thailand.

The 10-day programme included visits to aquaculture farms where the group learned about U.S. Soybean Export Council’s role in promoting more sustainable seafood production. As part of a diverse rice programme, we visited the International Rice Research Institute and several rice projects throughout the country where we learned about action taken to reduce methane emissions in rice production. Rice is the second largest emitter of methane, next to livestock. The work being done by CropLife International, GIZ and TAITA to lower those emissions is essential to mitigating climate change.

During the tour, we also visited specialty and traditional coffee farmers, an organic egg cooperative, a seed vegetable producer and a young, smart vegetable farmer, as well as the Thai-Danish dairy cooperative.

One of the highlights of the tour was meeting up with members of the Thai agricultural journalists’ association. While communication was challenging to begin with, Google Translate allowed us to share the challenges and opportunities we face in our respective countries as journalists.

All in all, a fabulous experience that’s sure to generate fabulous stories. Watch VILT for Dutch-language reports from Jozefien in the coming weeks.

13/04/2024

The Belgian Guild of Agricultural Journalists (BVLJ-ABJA), under the umbrella of the European Network of Agricultural Journalists (ENAJ), is proud to have hosted a group of 20 agricultural journalists for a low-budget press trip to Belgium for the Informal Meeting of Agriculture Ministers in Genk.

The trip began with a visit to Wouter Saelens' farm, Hoeveslagerij Saelens, in Herent. Wouter runs a nearly fully closed circle Belgian Blue beef farm where he produces almost all the feed his livestock eat. He's also dabbled in soy production and is currently one of just eight quinoa growers in Belgium.

We finished the day with a historic walking tour of Leuven, and dinner sponsored by FEFAC and the BFA - Belgian Feed Association. During dinner, Alexander Döring of FEFAC and Patrick Boone of Arvesta provided an outlook on EU and Belgian feed autonomy and circularity.

The following day, the group headed to Ferme Laruelle in Wallonia for a more intensive look at the Belgian Blue breed. We were joined briefly by Europe's agricultural ministers, who departed as were settled down to a steak lunch sponsored by AWÉ Groupe.

In the afternoon, we headed to BelOrta where Kris Jans took us on a tour of the company's new automated sorting centre for apples and pears in Borgloon. The facility was developed with a focus on centralisation, automation and logistics optimisation.

Following that, we headed to Halen to meet Mark Nickmans, a carbon-neutral pear producer. Mark and his family produce 1.3 million kg of mostly Conference pears on 27 ha each year. He's made a conscious decision not to be the biggest pear farmer, but the best.

We ended the day with dinner sponsored by Boerenbond and a thought-provoking presentation from Giel Boey, Boerenbond's International Policy Advisor, on the strategic importance of local food supply.

On the final day, the group headed to Genk for the Informal Meeting of Agriculture Ministers where the ministers were set to discuss the future of food, and especially proteins, in Europe. In recent months, food sovereignty has come into the spotlight with the farmer protests that have erupted across the continent. Belgium’s Federal Minister for Agriculture, David Clarinval, said strategic autonomy in agriculture, especially protein production for livestock feed, is one of Belgium's priorities for its presidency.

"It is important to guarantee a form of agriculture that is competitive and sustainable in the full sense of the term, meaning productive, remunerative for farmers and whose watchword is nutritional quality, while preserving the environment," Clarinval said during the press conference after the meeting. "Recent geopolitical conflicts have also demonstrated the importance of maintaining a high level of food security."

BVLJ-ABJA looks forward to welcoming a larger group of European agricultural journalists to Ghent in July for the press launch of the .

07/04/2024

De Low Budget Press Trip in België is van start gegaan. 20 journalisten luisteren geboeid naar het verhaal van landbouwer Wouter Saelens over quinoa en de korteketenverkoop van rundvlees.

26/01/2024

Tous les lauréats 2024 👍

26/01/2024

À Diederik De Clerck le prix audiovisuel 👏👏👏

26/01/2024

Notre vice-présidente G***t Lemaire remporte le prix de la presse du côté néerlandophone 👏👏👏

26/01/2024

Mathilde Guillaume remporte le prix de la presse écrite 👏👏👏

26/01/2024

Le prix photo de l´association va à notre collègue Antoon Vanderstraeten 👏👏👏

26/01/2024

Bienvenue à notre soirée du nouvel an ! Emmanuel Wart, chef de cabinet adjoint du ministre David Clarinval présente les priorités agricoles de la présidence Belge.

01/10/2023

ENAJ associated member FEFANA celebrated its 60th anniversary 🎉

https://enaj.eu/fefana-the-eu-association-of-specialty-feed-ingredients-and-their-mixtures-celebrated-its-60th-anniversary/

29/06/2023

Greetings from in Canada where Jos Theys Boerderij and BVLJ-ABJA secretary Melanie Epp are on the Business of Beef tour.

08/06/2023

Votre comité de l´Abja-Bvlj au travail pour préparer les futures activités et orientations de l´association ! G***t Lemaire, Melanie Epp, Marie-France Vienne, Ronald Pirlot, Luc Servais, Maaike Vandeputte, Jef Verhaeren, Lieven Vancoillie, Jérémy Vandegoor.

18/05/2023

Les agriculteurs se diversifient de plus en plus !

On le sait, la vie n’est pas toujours rose pour les agriculteurs chez nous. Météo capricieuse, augmentation des prix de...

12/05/2023

Après l´AG, visite des serres de Goni

12/05/2023

C'est parti pour notre AG chez Hortiplan !

22/04/2023

La météo de ces dernières semaines a des conséquences sur le travail des agriculteurs. Dans les champs, on peut observer...