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ClimateSmartAdvisors: Connecting and mobilizing the EU agricultural advisory community to support the transition to Climate Smart Farming

Project description

Expert advice on climate change and agriculture

Climate change is threatening global food security. While the impact on agriculture is evident, agriculture is also causing climate change. Adaptation efforts are needed. In this context, the EU-funded ClimateSmartAdvisors project will bring together experts from 27 countries to find ways to adopt climate-smart (CS) farming practices. The expert advisors will develop CS innovations and practices. The project will organise activities focusing on strengthening the advisors’ capacity to provide CS advice and boosting their role in the transition towards CS farming. Specifically, an EU-wide network of 260 advisory communities of practice (CoP) will support the development of 1 500 advisors who will form the core of CS knowledge exchange. The CoPs will internationally exchange knowledge.

Objective

ClimateSmartAdvisors is a pan-European multi-actor network covering 27 countries. Its aim is to boost the EU agricultural advisory community, leading to an acceleration of the adoption of climate smart (CS) farming practices by the wider farming community within and across EU AKISs. To reach this objective, ClimateSmartAdvisors focuses on the crucial role of advisors in the development and dissemination of CS innovations and practices. The project will organize activities focusing on strengthening the advisors’ capacity in providing CS advice and boosting the advisors’ role in the transition towards CS farming through their involvement in innovation projects, CS-AKIS, and EU projects and initiatives. A number of complementary activities are developed to strengthen the CS advisory capacity of the EU advisory community: 1) an EU-wide network of 260 advisory Communities of Practice (CoP) to support the development of 1500 advisors will form the core of CS knowledge exchange; 2) 140 advisors will receive expert training on selected topics, relevant for their context and for facilitating a CoP; 3) CoPs will internationally exchange knowledge on 12 thematic areas; 4) a knowledge repository will provide advisors with CS tools, practices and approaches developed in the ClimateFarmDemo project and further expanded in ClimateSmartAdvisors, 5) monitoring, evaluation and learning activities will capitalize lessons learned in and outside the project. Activities to boost the advisors role in the CS transition include: 1) connecting to local and EU (multi-actor innovation) projects, initiatives, AKIS actors, and policy makers to clarify and address joint needs, challenges and lessons learned, 2) the set-up of Co-Design Innovation Experiments to learn on how to strengthen the advisors’ role in innovation processes. Finally, to accelerate the wide spread of results, an ambitious dissemination, exploitation and communication strategy will be deployed at EU and national levels.

Coordinator

EIGEN VERMOGEN VAN HET INSTITUUT VOOR LANDBOUW- EN VISSERIJONDERZOEK
Net EU contribution
€ 1 601 056,00
Address
BURG. VAN GANSBERGHELAAN 92 BUS 1
9820 Merelbeke
Belgium

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Region
Vlaams Gewest Prov. Oost-Vlaanderen Arr. Gent
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost
€ 1 613 556,25

Participants (65)

Partners (6)