Russia's invasion of Ukraine and occupation of much of its most fertile land, in the southern regions of Mykolaiv and Kherson, has been catastrophic for the country's agriculture. Back in April, our correspondent Gulliver Cragg met one of the many farmers whose land had fallen under Russian control.

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) yesterday announced that it would pay €15 million to farmers in three Niger Delta communities as compensation for damages to their farms from pipeline leaks between 2004 and 2007.

Germany is restructuring its agriculture to make one-third of all farms organic by 2030. But as inflation rises, farmers are demanding more government support. They are set to flock to Berlin to make their voices heard.

American soul and blues singer Lee Fields has worked with some of the biggest artists in music, from Kool & the Gang to Martin Solveig. Now in his seventh decade, he's still releasing fantastic songs with a voice that pulls all kinds of heartstrings.

Relentless rains in South Africa have claimed at least a dozen victims with the bad weather forcing the government to declare a national state of disaster. It comes less than a year after the country’s deadliest floods. And, as the civilian death toll rises from rebel fighting in Eastern Congo, more people are seeking refuge in the North Kivu town of Goma.

Data by the International Monetary Fund shows that only 24 per cent of loans collected by farmers under the anchor borrowers’ programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria has been repaid.

Thousands of farmers and anti-establishment demonstrators protested in The Hague against government plans to cut nitrate emissions. At the same time, climate activists blocked a main road elsewhere in the city.

The outcome of a provincial election in the Netherlands could end Prime Minister Mark Rutte's environmental protection plans.

Due to its intensive agriculture, the Netherlands has the highest nitrogen emissions in Europe. As a result, Dutch forests and rivers are among the most polluted in the world. EU environmental standards dictate that the Dutch government must reduce the presence of this chemical element in the soil.

The IEA said renewable energy is expanding faster than many people realize, but it warned that investment in fossil fuels is not slowing fast enough to reach goals to slash emissions by 2050.

In the Spanish countryside, farmland is being turned into space for solar panels and wind farms. Spain's government wants to produce at least 74 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030, an increase of 16 percent in five years. To meet those targets, the country is opting for giant solar farms, particularly in the southern Andalusia region. That's angering farmers – some of whom are having their land expropriated – and even some ecologists. Our correspondents report.

Agriculture in France is not immune to the digital revolution. More and more farmers are using IT tools to carry out their administrative and technical tasks. But some go much further: from fully robotic milking of cows, to connected cameras, to data gathering and even a digital fruit and vegetable market. FRANCE 24 went to meet some of these farmers for whom technology represents the future of their livelihood.