Qual è stata la sfida/problema affrontato?

Over the past five decades, the EU Common Agricultural Policy has encouraged farmers to modernize and intensify production. This led to a mainly ‘linear’ production approach, so that farming is a resource intensive sector, depending on many external inputs (fertilizers, plant protection products, machinery,...) and natural resources (soil, acqua, biodiversity), maximising production but at the same time polluting the environment and declining farmland biodiversity.

There is an urgent need for increased resource efficiency in farming systems to make the transition to more circular agro-ecosystems, which depend less on external inputs and conserve natural resources (soil, acqua, biodiversity). A very promising concept in this regard is Functional Agro Biodiversity (FAB). The partnership was broad, going from scientific research institutes over farmer organisations to organisations which build bridges between the farmers and the other stakeholders or community, but all with the same goal: make the agricultural system resilient and embed economic valuable techniques in European, national or regional policy.

 

Come hai risolto il problema?

With the use of Function AgroBiodiversity (FAB) you use biodiversity to make your agricultural systemmore resilient. The partnership defined 10 different FAB measures that all have the same purpose: stimulate that part of biodiversity that’s beneficial for the farmer. This can be linked to attraction of polinators or natural ennemies, but also stimulation of soil life. Il 10 FAB-measures are crop rotation, mixed crops, organic matter input, cover crops, non-inversion tillage, modify manure quality, field margin management, hedgerow management, agroforestry and the FAB supporting action phhysical and biological crop protection. During the project we worked closely together with farmers over 14 pilot regions. We were able to support 447 farmers and implement FAB-measures on an area of 22678 ha!

Cosa c'è di innovativo nel tuo pratico caso?

Use of functional agrobiodiversity (FAB) to make the agricultural system more resilient and less dependend on external inputs. It’s not just about biodiversity, but about targetted stimulans of that part of biodiversity that’s beneficial for the agricultural system. To reach this goal the partnership bundeld en enriched the knowledge on FAB, made it widely available for farmers, worked actively together with farmers in 14 pilot regions and engaged citizens and policy makers.

Quali sono i fattori di successo nella risoluzione del problema?

The project was successful in different ways:

– We worked together with farmers on different levels by which we were able to give the farmers the advise needed on their level of knowledge and interest: more general information during the demonstrations, peer-to-peer learning during the network events and more detailed support during the kitchen table talks.

– Use of different learning techniques and levels of information to reach as many farmers as possible.

– Use of different kinds of citizen involvement to bring the citizens closer to the farmers.

– Creation of policy papers and organisation of policy events, but also converstation with policy makers to embed the use of FAB-measures in EU, national and regional policy.

– Work with a very diverse partnership, that keeps you open-minded.

 

Lezioni imparate

– It is important to always include the economic aspect of new techniques. At the end of the day, an income must be generated for the farmer. When it comes to FAB measures, the costs and benefits, direct or indirect, do not always lie with the same party. It is important to always keep this spread in mind when working out the revenue model as well. We give some examples here. When farmers use less plant protection products in drinking water catchment areas, the cost of treatment is lower. The use of flower borders makes the region more attractive for tourism.

– Farmers are always curious about what is going on with their colleagues. Probably learning from each other on a farm where techniques have been implemented is the best learning strategy for many farmers.

– Open yourself up to learning and using new techniques for interaction. Don’t be afraid to work in a way you’re not used to.

– When it comes to policy, il (informal) conversations with policy makers are at least as valuable as the policy paper or policy event you organise.

 

Che ruolo gioca il consulente o il servizio di consulenza nel caso pratico??

Exchange with farmers: A joint strategy was developed for the networking moments. It started from the challenges and needs of farmers. These were prioritised and the highest-priority needs were translated into possible project activities. During networking and demonstration sessions, time was always set aside to listen to the experiences of the farmers present.

Exchange within the partnership: During the partner meetings, ample time was made to exchange results and experiences and to work out joint strategies.

Finalmente, master classes were organised. A questo scopo, partners working on the same FAB measure developed an online webinar that was open to project partners, but also to farmers, consulenti agricoli, researchers and other interested parties.

 

Il tuo approccio può essere trasferito e/o adattato per altre sfide e regioni dell'innovazione??

sì

Trasferibilità stimata su una scala da 1 a 5

(dove 1 è facile e 5 molto difficile)

2

 

La tempistica è fondamentale per terminare il raccolto di copertura e la disponibilità di piegatrici a rulli potrebbe rappresentare un collo di bottiglia, Per qualsiasi domanda e richiesta sulle prossime classi di eccellenza

Katrien Geudens

Katrien.geudens@provincieantwerpen.be

Collegamento a informazioni esterne

https://www.facebook.com/FABulousFarmers