Agroforestry systems are divers and decisions on implementation and management can have strong effects on the biodiversity of such a system. With an evalutaion key, we want to support farmers in the decision making process and disclose the potential to promote biodiversity. In the beginning od September, we got to test our first version including walking a transect through a recently planted fodder hedge.
The Network for Rural Development of Serbia, in cooperation with 6 other networks for rural development in the Balkans, has started the implementation of the project "Academy from field to table for a green Western Balkans - our common European future" funded by the European Union.
The project has the following objectives:
• Strengthen the capacities of CSOs in the sustainable food and livelihood system through the regional "From Field to Table Academy".
• Introducing innovative, green and inclusive solutions for sustainable food systems and livelihoods.
• Further strengthening of the contribution and influence of national rural networks/BRDN in the processes of making policies and decisions and the agenda at the national and regional level by improving the process of implementation/alignment with the EU.
Funded by the Horizon Europe programme and the United Kingdom funds on research and innovation, GRANULAR is a four-year project and it aims to generate new insights to characterize rural diversity. To this end, GRANULAR will generate novel datasets and methods to better understand the characteristics, dynamics and drivers of rural areas. In addition, a Rural Compass will be created for rural actors in order to help them grasp the specificities and diversity of their territories, with the objective e of identifying main challenges and designing tailored place-based policies to address them.
As part of the "Agromix" project, implemented by the Network for Rural Development of Serbia in cooperation with the partner consortium coordinated by Coventry University, on December 7, 2022, a field consultation workshop was held with local actors in the village of Rudno. The target group were farmers.
The current state of agriculture and opportunities for improvement were discussed with a group of farmers. Representatives of the Network for Rural Development explained the concepts of agroforestry and mixed agriculture to the farmers, and then those present discussed the possibilities of agricultural development and the principles of agroforestry.
As part of the "Agromix" project, implemented by the Network for Rural Development of Serbia in cooperation with the partner consortium coordinated by Coventry University, on November 15, 2022, a field consultation workshop was held with local actors in the village of Rudno. The target group was women and young people.
The current state of agriculture, rural development and the participation of young people and women in the rural economy were discussed with a group of interested parties. Considerable attention was devoted to the discussion about the possibilities of agricultural development, not the principles of agroforestry.
As part of the "Agromix" project, which is implemented by the Network for Rural Development of Serbia in cooperation with the partner consortium coordinated by Coventry University, on October 18, 2022, a field consultation workshop was held with local actors in the village of Gokčanica.
The current state of agricultural production in the village, as well as the possibilities of agricultural development based on the principles of agroforestry, were discussed with a group of farmers. The participants pointed out that due to depopulation in the village and the entire region, it is increasingly difficult to implement development measures in agriculture.
Agroforestry is an integral part of local practice in agricultural production, but certainly support is needed in ensuring sustainable production and preserving scarce resources for agricultural production.
As part of the "Agromix" project, which is implemented by the Network for Rural Development of Serbia in cooperation with the partner consortium coordinated by Coventry University, a field visit to the pilot farms in the village of Rudno was carried out.
Within the second work package of the Agromix project in Serbia, an association of producers in the Biosphere Reserve "Golija-Studenica" and two pilot farms have been identified as a pilot initiative, which will serve for the analysis of current practices in the application of the principles of agroforestry and mixed agriculture, as well as for defining measures and recommendation for their promotion.
The selected pilot farms each have 10ha of their own land and about 2ha of leased land. Both farms have mixed agricultural production: livestock, cereals, potatoes, meadows, forest. One farm also has accommodation facilities for rural tourism (4 rooms with 2 beds each).
The visit to the pilot farms is just one in a series to come.
A project undertaken by the Agricultural Advisory Centre in Brwinów (Poland) as part of the 2020-2022 Operational Plan for the Network for Innovation in Agriculture entitled 'Agroforestry - an opportunity for crop biodiversity'. The aim of the operation was to transfer knowledge and information on innovative solutions in agriculture and rural areas in the field of agroforestry and to disseminate good practices.
LIFE Montado-Adapt is a project to promote the adaptation of Montados in Portugal and Spain, whose main objective is to mitigate the consequences of climate change on these properties, improving their sustainability from an economic, social and environmental point of view. The aim is to support the owners and managers of Montados in the regions of Alentejo (Portugal), Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) in the implementation of the INTEGRATED SYSTEM FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF THE MONTADO . Work is already underway in pilot areas that will also support all those interested in implementing the System on their own properties.
The project aims to develop a high-resolution demonstrative geospatial information system that, by gathering relevant information layers (e.g. climate, landscape elements, infrastructure elements, agricultural statistics), will identify the climate change mitigation potential in the agricultural sector of the selected region and support the design and implementation of targeted carbon farming payments. The project is expected to lead to the development of a framework for a carbon certification system in collaboration with relevant actors and institutions, as well as an exchange and information mechanism related to greenhouse gas inventories from the agricultural sector. The geospatial information system developed within this project should enable the support of an incentive mechanism to reward more sustainable management practices such as the 'Carbon Farming' practices described. Finally, the project will identify and implement a regional-scale institutional demonstration framework that should support an initiative to promote 'Carbon Farming' practices, with the aim of linking implementing bodies (e.g. regional CAP administrations in EU Member States) with participating farmers and foresters.
