Project description
Paving the way for agroecology in Europe
A sustainable, ecological approach in farming is today a solution in front of the growing challenges of climate change, depleted natural resources, shrinking biodiversity and reduced soil quality. Agroecology can address these challenges, reinforcing the resilience of farming systems. Existing instruments offered by open innovation arrangements can serve this goal, particularly living labs (LL) and research infrastructures (RIs). For this reason, the EU-funded ALL-Ready project will develop AgroEcoLLNet, a new framework for the future European network of LLs and RIs. The project will lay the groundwork and prepare the necessary prerequisites and activities. Testing will verify and improve the project’s outcomes, which will be communicated widely in Europe. The implementation plan will be tested and integrated into the validated framework of AgroEcoLLNet.
Objective
Today, agricultural systems are facing multiple challenges, including climate change, loss of biodiversity, dwindling resources, degradation of soil and water quality. Agroecology can strengthen the sustainability and resilience of farming systems and thus contribute to addressing these challenges. Based on the premise that Open Innovation Arrangements (OIAs) and in particular Living Labs (LL) and Research Infrastructures (RIs) are instruments that have large potential to contribute to amplifying agroecology in Europe, the main aim of ALL-Ready (this project) is to prepare a framework for a future European network of LLs and RIs (to be called “AgroEcoLLNet”) that will enable the transition towards agroecology throughout Europe. It will rely on a highly participatory and inclusive approach and on experimentation in real life situations and thus itself uses a living lab approach. An underpinning principle of the project is strong stakeholder engagement, which has begun in the preparation of this proposal. The project has 3 phases: an initial preparatory phase in which the vision, scope and mission for the Network are defined and the criteria for inclusion in the Network of LLs and RIs as well as other forms of OIAs are defined. This will enable the mapping of current and emerging LLs, RIs and OIAs across Europe and their characteristics, highlighting best cases. In a second phase, different prerequisites/ activites for the future Network will be prepared ‘(sustainability, including funding, governance, capacity building, data and knowledge management). Plans for each of these will be constructed with stakeholders and then tested in a small-scale pilot network and then refined to match needs. Finally, the outcomes of the work will be communicated widely throughout Europe by a variety of mechanisms. One of the final outcomes of the project will be a pilot-tested Implementation Plan for implementing the validated framework of AgroEcoLLNet, within Horizon Europe.
Fields of science
- social sciencessociologygovernance
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental scienceshydrology
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystems
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculture
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
Keywords
Programme(s)
- H2020-EU.3.2. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy Main Programme
- H2020-EU.3.2.1.1. - Increasing production efficiency and coping with climate change, while ensuring sustainability and resilience
- H2020-EU.3.2.1.2. - Providing ecosystems services and public goods
Funding Scheme
CSA - Coordination and support actionCoordinator
75007 Paris
France