At the Oxford Real Farming Conference 2026, A2L facilitated a panel on a topic that doesn’t usually make headlines but probably should: a European Land Observatory.
Because let’s be honest – we can tell you the price of avocados in three supermarkets within five minutes, but try finding clear data on who owns farmland, how concentrated it is, or how much it costs across regions. Suddenly things go very quiet.
The panel explored why proper, transparent land data matters. Be it Ireland, France, Germany, or the UK, without it, tackling land concentration, speculation or the barriers facing new agroecological farmers is a bit like farming in the fog. You know the field is there. You just can’t quite see who’s fencing it off.
Speakers discussed how a Land Observatory could track ownership patterns, land prices and market trends, helping policymakers and civil society move from anecdotes to evidence. Not for the sake of spreadsheets, but to ensure farmland serves public good – healthy soils, viable farms and living rural communities – rather than disappearing into investment portfolios.
The conversation made one thing clear: if we are serious about agroecology and generational renewal, we need to know what’s happening to the land beneath our feet.
The full recording of the session is available on the ORFC website.