Periodic Reporting for period 1 - FALAH (Family farming, lifestyle and health in the Pacific)
Reporting period: 2020-10-01 to 2023-12-31
FALAH (Family farming, lifestyle and health) is a multidisciplinary project focused mainly on family farming and food in the Pacific Islands. Due to the close relationship between agriculture and food, the project is structured in three complementary scientific components The project involves some fifteen multidisciplinary teams at local, regional and international networks. This network-networking project mobilizes researchers and teaching-researchers from Europe and partners from Vanuatu, Fiji, Salomon, New-Caledonia and Australia.
During this project, three time phases are planned at different levels. In each phase, joint meetings in the form of workshops or conferences are planned for the three WPs. At the same time, common areas of experimentation / exploration for future research are planned on the Pacific Fields of Application (Fiji, Solomon, Vanuatu and NC). The secondments of the members of the scientific teams are defined on the basis of these joint meetings. The teams must also propose specific secondments according to the tasks they wish to carry out, the apprenticeships and / or the enrichments they wish. Regardless of the WP, please note that the number of stays will be 3 to 6 maximum per team during a year.
During this project, three time phases are planned at different levels. In each phase, joint meetings in the form of workshops or conferences are planned for the three WPs. At the same time, common areas of experimentation / exploration for future research are planned on the Pacific Fields of Application (Fiji, Solomon, Vanuatu and NC). The secondments of the members of the scientific teams are defined on the basis of these joint meetings. The teams must also propose specific secondments according to the tasks they wish to carry out, the apprenticeships and / or the enrichments they wish. Regardless of the WP, please note that the number of stays will be 3 to 6 maximum per team during a year.
Task 1.1: Preparation of scientific events, training activity definition arrangement and linkage of researchers' secondments with WP objectives
Task 1.2: 1 General assembly, weekly coordination meeting, …
Setting up a structured project to facilitate travelling Pacific - Pacific
Network activation FALAH –CRESICA
Pacific – Pacific network
Task 1.3: With WP responsible persons, Office Teams, emailing, Virtual meeting, FALAH CRESICA meeting (2020-22), regrouping of team FALAH CRESICA – FALAH Vanuatu (MoET/VARTC)
LMU replaced by E Kula extended to Graz
Task 1.4: 5/10 FALAH scientific events completed :
- November 2020 : kick off meeting
- USP Fiji (July 2022)
- MoET/VARTC Vanuatu (October 2022)
- USYD Australia (November 2022)
- UNC New Caledonia (March 2023)
Task 1.5: Deliverables, external communication, social networks
Task 2.1: Gather and summarize knowledge on cropping practices, consumption, innovation and the dynamics of family farming
Task 2.2: Improve understanding of how family farming functions through ecological, economic, sociological and spatial dimensions and how it adapts to the environment
Task 3.1: Examine the effects of family farming on lifestyle and its impact on the health and well-being
Task 3.2: Explore diet and physical activity in families practicing family farming
Task 1.2: 1 General assembly, weekly coordination meeting, …
Setting up a structured project to facilitate travelling Pacific - Pacific
Network activation FALAH –CRESICA
Pacific – Pacific network
Task 1.3: With WP responsible persons, Office Teams, emailing, Virtual meeting, FALAH CRESICA meeting (2020-22), regrouping of team FALAH CRESICA – FALAH Vanuatu (MoET/VARTC)
LMU replaced by E Kula extended to Graz
Task 1.4: 5/10 FALAH scientific events completed :
- November 2020 : kick off meeting
- USP Fiji (July 2022)
- MoET/VARTC Vanuatu (October 2022)
- USYD Australia (November 2022)
- UNC New Caledonia (March 2023)
Task 1.5: Deliverables, external communication, social networks
Task 2.1: Gather and summarize knowledge on cropping practices, consumption, innovation and the dynamics of family farming
Task 2.2: Improve understanding of how family farming functions through ecological, economic, sociological and spatial dimensions and how it adapts to the environment
Task 3.1: Examine the effects of family farming on lifestyle and its impact on the health and well-being
Task 3.2: Explore diet and physical activity in families practicing family farming
This project will support various EU policy initiatives including the 2010 EU policy framework on family farming, food and health. The program establishes food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture firmly among the EU's key priorities for development cooperation in the years ahead. It prioritises support to those countries that have the biggest difficulties in meeting Sustainable Development Goal 1. The policy supports developing countries in addressing food security challenges in a comprehensive manner. It sets out policy lines and proposes priority actions across the four internationally recognised pillars of food security, agreed at the 1996 World Food Summit: increasing availability of food; improving access to food; improving nutritional adequacy of food intake; enhancing crisis prevention and management. The EU pursues action at both the national and the regional level. The establishment of this research group is timely because there are many health issues that are causing concern in Europe, and worldwide. The great relevance of the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the Pacific increases the risk of non-communicable diseases and socio-economic impacts. The region has the highest diabetes prevalence in the world. So, research programs are needed to determine the societal and environmental factors that influence food intake and physical activity. All in all the project aims to build a more sustainable family farming including healthy eating and have an active life. Hence this project aligns with the intentions of Europe 2020. Exposure for European researchers to non-European research environments will give new insights into how non- European countries such as Australia can align their agriculture and health systems to their own national policy priorities. The project is unique in its research focus and partnership in a time when sustainable agriculture, food and health issues need to be better understood in the Pacific region. The establishment of a coherent research program will ensure that the European based research group will achieve world-wide academic recognition. This project supports the aims of the EU Framework Program for Research and Innovation by supporting the overall aim of Horizon 2020:“by coupling research and innovation, Horizon 2020 is helping to achieve this with its emphasis on excellent science, industrial leadership and tackling societal challenges. More specifically this research project will stress the area of health by examining the “many challenges that need to be met to grant everybody’s legitimate wish for a long, happy and healthy life”. Hence, the knowledge produced from this project may have significant impact related to the aim of building a healthy European, and worldwide, society. By improving EU scholarship in this field, by providing researchers with new skills and a wider range of competences, and by offering attractive working conditions, it will strengthen the human potential in research in Europe. The program also supports the most recent EU Framework Program for Research and Innovation statement. With the collective expertise of researchers from seven countries who are at the forefront of promoting a sustainable family farming, examining agriculture, food and health perspectives, we are well positioned to provide better insights on a global scale, and eventually make a contribution towards a healthy lifestyle for all citizens in EU and worldwide. By broadening the skills of individual researchers and institutions, we will improve EU scholarship in a field in which the EU can lead globally. It will improve the research environment in this field in both France and Germany and this knowledge can be disseminated throughout the EU and beyond.