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AGROMIX partners recommend new policies to support the agroecological transition in Europe!
AGROMIX partners have been working to address the apparent lack of mixed farming and agroforestry policies by systematically reviewing current agricultural policies, identifying areas for improved policy coherence and development, as well as proposing new policy design and implementation options.
Head over to the new policy corner on our website to explore the different policy recommendations that AGROMIX has co-designed at a regional, national, and EU level to support the agroecological transition in Europe.
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With the aim of promoting agroforestry policies across the European Union, AGROMIX partners are also organizing a series of policy workshops where relevant actors (such as farmers, policymakers, civil society and researchers) can come together in an exchange to discuss the different needs and barriers.
These workshops will lay the groundwork for setting concrete recommendations on the future of agricultural and agroforestry policy in Europe.
Learn more about the recent and upcoming workshops below!
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Co-design Policy Workshop in Belgium
Agroecology Europe Association organized a policy workshop on Tuesday, 7 February 2023 from 9:00am to 13:30pm CET at the Coventry University office in Brussels, located at Avenue de Tervuren 168, 1150 Brussels.
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Co-design Policy Workshop in England
Cranfield University and Coventry University organized a policy workshop on Monday, 30 January 2023 from 10:30am to 16:00pm GMT at Cranfield University, College Road, Cranfield MK43 0AL UK.
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▲ AGROMIX Work In Progress
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WP1. "The focus of WP1 is mostly on papers and this work is happening in smaller groups. The next task coming will start in September but we will need feedback from other packages, this involves receiving feedback and improving the framework. We are also working in two papers. One paper on changes on agroforestry systems and mixed systems in Europe is about to be finished and the other one is about woody landscape features, in which we are working with an Estonian organisation to find out where we have agroforestry systems". - Ülle Püttsepp, WP leader working on Context.
WP2. "We have started the outlines of the deliverables of the task and we are currently working on a manual, a 20-pages booklet, in which REVOLVE will help with the designing process. There will be another co-design workshop in France in early June where colleagues from other WPs will join. Regarding the catalog, we still working on a process for making an online database and we are still having a discussion about how to integrate it." - Daniël de Jong, WP leader working on System Design and Synergies.
WP3. "There are two deliverables coming in the next 12 months. We have a new postdoc joining the team as well. And we are planning a live meeting in Plasencia in May to discuss modeling the systems". - Felix Herzog, working on Biophysical Indicators and Scenarios.
WP4. "Our objective is to develop the multi-actor participatory approach to unlock synergies in mixed farming and agroforestry systems increasing agro-environmental and socio-economic resilience in the context of climate change. Thanks to the collaboration with the WP2, we involved all the actors of the 12 co-design pilots to start the process of the participatory multi-criteria assessment of sustainability and resilience at the scale field, farm, and landscape levels. In the coming weeks, the project app will be developed to facilitate the transition to more resilient farming systems.” Alberto Mantino, WP leader working on Participatory Research
WP5. "We have completed two tasks (5.1 and 5.2) and now we are working on the survey (5.3) in five different countries. Task 5.4 hasn't started yet but our colleagues started to think about how to model and it's been already discussed with the two other cases. In December 2022, WP5 contributed to the joined project on Resilience together with the MIXED project, we added some analysis of resilience at several levels and we presented a conceptualization." - Fabio Bartolini, WP leader working on Socio-Economic, Value Chain and Network Assessment.
WP6. "We've had our first policy workshop here in the UK and it went very well, there was a great mix of different stakeholders and lots of really great discussions. Currently, we are preparing a post-event video and other material from the outputs of the workshop. Also, other policy workshops will take place in the coming weeks in Brussels (7th Feb) and Germany (28th Feb) and more to follow in France and Switzerland. Many conferences are taking place in the UK since the country released its new environmental plan on land management." - Rosemary Venn, working on Policy Development.
WP7. "We have a new Communications Officer for the AGROMIX Project, Cora Craigmile. We have also developed a new policy corner on the website and we are continuing to support the other WPs in the dissemination of their articles and events. Our social media channels continue to grow and we will keep studying and analyzing how to reach larger audiences." - Josep Crous, working on Communication, Dissemination, and Exploitation.
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▲ The Regenerative Podcast
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Christian Dupraz, a renowned agroforestry researcher at INRAE Montpellier and partner of the AGROMIX Project, was interviewed for The Regenerative Agroforestry Podcast to discuss years of research under the alley cropping walnut trees of the Domaine de Restinclières.
In the interview he discussed socio-economic aspects such as the relationship with the local farmers and the reason why alley cropping systems have not yet been scaled.
Curious to know more? Listen to the podcast and share your thoughts with us!
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▲ New environmental targets in the UK
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The UK Government has recently announced new environmental targets as part of its Environmental Improvement Plan and Environment Act, which includes increasing tree and woodland cover - hooray!
Check the key targets in this article, written by Rosemary Venn from Coventry University!
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▲ A fruitful AGROMIX-MIXED-STARGATE webinar
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Around 60 participants from different specialised fields who are involved in the EU projects AGROMIX, MIXED and STARGATE, came together in a two-hour webinar to discuss the concept of “mixedness”, and how it finds its meaning across the three projects. The webinar also served as an opportunity to find a common ground for defining different concepts that all three projects engage with.
Want to know more? Read the following article...
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Do you have agroforestry on your farm? Take part in the Agroforestry Open Weekend, a chosen weekend in the year when farms and other sites with agroforestry planting can be part of a collective action to open to the public.
Any site, anywhere in the world, that has agroforestry planting and is happy to welcome visitors that weekend, can take part!
Spread the word and get people to learn about agroforestry by showcasing what you and others are doing!
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2nd International Forest Garden / Food Forest Symposium
The Second Food Forest Symposium will take place online from 20-24 February 2023! The aim is to cover all aspects of food forestry, with presentations on projects from around the world (both urban and rural, from the far north to the tropics), current research, perennial foods and cooking, education, health, carbon storage & climate change. More than five continents will be presented!
Book your tickets!
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Regenerative Agriculture April 25-26
It is recognised that there is a need to bring together the scientific evidence supporting the implementation of regenerative agriculture, to help evaluate the potential benefits and challenges for food production, the environment and farm profitability, across different agroclimatic zones and farming systems. This conference, taking place in a hybrid format, will bring together researchers, consultants, farmers, agronomists and students to share research findings.
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Get involved in intercropping trials!
Growing two or more combinable crops at the same time has been shown to increase total crop yield per field. Innovative Farmers, as part of their involvement in the LEGUMINOSE project will be setting up trials with Reading University to look at the benefits of intercropping in arable rotations. They are looking for up to 20 farmers and others from the industry to work on these trials - if you’re interested in learning more or getting involved, reach out to them!
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Course: Online Forest Gardening Course
This online course on forest gardening shows you how to start your forest garden, how to prepare a good design, what the options for tree, shrub and perennial plants are, and how to go about planting and creating your own productive system. There are 15 online course episodes with accompanying pdf notes, plus a bonus episode.
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Life within Planetary Boundaries
Maja Lindström, a filmmaker from PARADIGM SHIFT FILMS, LLC, followed agroforestry pioneers in Sweden and the UK to produce a film about how food production systems can help to restore biodiversity, provide food security, generate new jobs, and enhance the quality of life. Maja presents a utopian society in two sections where the current problems between food production and ecological health are reduced by the use of agroforestry.
Watch the documentary!
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Agroecological crop protection for sustainable agriculture
Crop losses from pests threaten global food security and safety. In the last six decades, pest control using chemical pesticides has resulted in important yield gains per unit area, worldwide. However, the long-term sustainability of chemical pest control is increasingly being questioned as a result of the negative impact on human health, biodiversity, and the environment. In this publication, a number of scholars discuss ways to advance crop protection science in order to address major agricultural concerns.
Read more
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Any interesting films, books, articles or podcasts that you would recommend?
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