Project description
Investigating the revival of fallowing in agriculture
Before the advent of artificial fertilisers, it was common for farmers to leave the land unsown after ploughing so that the soil could restore its own fertility. Known as fallowing, the recent European resumption of this practice will be investigated from both cultural and biological perspectives by the MSCA-funded FALLOW project. By analysing scientific literature and conducting interviews with those who have turned to fallowing, it will establish the biological and philosophical evolutionary drivers of modern fallowing. It will also take underlying political and historical contexts into account. As we strive for improved sustainability and a possible shift away from intensive farming, the results of the FALLOW project may shape future European policies on agriculture and beyond.
Objective
This project proposes to investigate the resurgence of intentional fallowing as a practice for soil regeneration and as a tool for sustainability policies in Europe. It will deploy an interdisciplinary approach grounded in philosophy and multispecies ethnography to analyse the contemporary resurgence and mutations of intentional fallowing practices in European agriculture and policies, as well as the cultural, social, and scientific consequences of this shift. It combines qualitative research on European farms conducting experimental intentional fallowing, a genealogical analysis of the historical and political context in which these practices are re-emerging, and an exploration of the adjacent spaces in which fallowing and fallowness are studied, such as microbiology, conservation biology, and bioengineering. By combining these three lines of inquiry, the project demonstrates that fallowing is a marginalised practice currently under re-evaluation and potential re-integration into projects and policies that go beyond agricultural concerns. It will analyse the biopolitical and cosmopolitical dimensions of this renewed interest in alternatives to synthetic fertilisers and intensive agriculture by showing that fallowed soils are a site where a variety of interests and projects converge, and by tracing how these practices take up, replay, and extend questions of productivity and idleness, growth and alternatives to economic expansion. This project will combine qualitative methods, in particular in-depth interviews with practitioners in the field, with an extensive engagement with literature in agricultural science, microbiology, conservation biology, and ecology, producing an analysis of fallowing that cuts across what is usually deemed cultural and biological domains and studies the role, promises, and implications of fallowing practices in times of mass extinction and soil depletion.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences economics and business economics production economics productivity
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics mutation
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology
- humanities philosophy, ethics and religion philosophy
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
0313 Oslo
Norway
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.