VALERECO is a European research and innovation project aiming to highlight the role of legume-based cropping systems in mitigating major challenges in agriculture, including climate change, biodiversity loss, soil degradation and overreliance on chemical inputs. Legume cultivation provides multiple environmental and agronomic benefits, known as “Ecosystem Services (ES)”. However, legume adoption in Europe remains limited due to economic, technical and policy-related constraints. VALERECO responds by improving understanding of the environmental and economic value of legume ES, demonstrating them in practice, and supporting their integration into farming practices and policy frameworks.
The project’s overall objective is to promote adoption of underutilized legume crops as a key component of diversified and climate-resilient farming systems. It works across European regions with diverse soil-climate conditions to quantify and enhance legume ES, including soil fertility improvement through biological nitrogen fixation, biodiversity support, weed and pest suppression, and reduced reliance on chemical inputs. A key strategy is establishing Living Labs (LLs) that bring together farmers, advisors, researchers and other stakeholders to co-create, test and demonstrate legume-based solutions under real farming conditions.
In parallel, VALERECO emphasises knowledge exchange, capacity building and decision support. The Digital Legume Information Hub (DLIH) provides decision-support systems (DSS), training materials and open-access platforms to support decision-making by farmers, advisors and agri-food chain stakeholders. By linking scientific evidence, stakeholder engagement and policy-relevant insights, VALERECO contributes to the transition towards environmentally friendly and economically sustainable agricultural systems, strengthening farm resilience amid major challenges in European agriculture.