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Evidence-based support for transition to agroecological weed management in diverse farming systems and European regions

Project description

Innovative agroecological practices for a sustainable agriculture

Managing weeds with herbicides will become more challenging due to increasing CO2 and climate change conditions. Agroecological practices offer a path towards sustainable agriculture. However, despite varying degrees of application, these practices have not been widely adopted by farmers. The EU-funded CONSERWA project aims to address this issue by compiling a portfolio of agroecological farming practices, assessing their optimal combinations and transferability, utilising innovative tools to support implementation, evaluating their performance and impacts, employing an open decision support system (DSS) for practical decision-making, and studying the factors that influence farmers' decision-making regarding agroecological farming. The project will include case studies covering all European biogeographical and pedo-climatic regions, providing training to farmers, and delivering policy recommendations.

Objective

There is an urgent need to move towards sustainable weed management strategies. Agroecology offers a unique approach & seeks to transform food & agriculture systems, providing long-term solutions.
Challenge 1: Agroecological practices are already applied to different degrees. However, wide adoption of agroecological weed management has lagged behind our understanding of its benefits and way to optimally apply it in different cases.
Challenge 2: Even with simple agroecological practices, uptake by farmers has been limited. Impediments to employing such practices include inadequate policy instruments, a lack of market mechanisms, and a paucity of social infrastructure with which to influence learning & decision-making by farmers.
Challenge 3: Weeds are expected to become more difficult to reliably control with herbicides under increasing CO2 and climate change (CC). Nevertheless, practical implications of climate change for the many non-chemical tactics integral to agroecological weeding have not been thoroughly addressed yet.
CONSERWA will address the aforementioned challenges by: a) compiling a portfolio of agroecological farming practices, studying their optimal combinations & transferability, including suitability under CC scenarios, b) supporting the implementation of these combinations and the measurement of their performance & impacts using novel tools, c) supporting knowledge management & communication between stakeholders with the ultimate goal of practical decision-making and impact assessment through an open DSS, d) studying factors influencing farmers’ decision-making in applying agroecological farming, working together with the value chain, such as the food processors & consultancy services.
The study will be facilitated by case studies covering all European biogeographical/pedo-climatic regions and involving a wide range of crops & farming systems. CONSERWA focuses also on training of farmers, as well as on policy making (through policy recommendations).

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-02-two-stage

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Coordinator

CY.R.I.C CYPRUS RESEARCH AND INNOVATION CENTER LTD
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 569 625,00
Address
AGIAS ELENIS 6 AGIAS ELENIS BUILDING 4TH FLOOR FLAT OFFICE 43
1060 Lefkosia
Cyprus

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SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
Κύπρος Κύπρος Κύπρος
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
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Total cost

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.

€ 632 125,00

Participants (24)

Partners (3)

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