PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Over the past few decades, the Netherlands have become warmer and wetter, with many instances of extreme rainfall events. Climate scenarios indicate that these trends will continue, although the extent of such effects remains uncertain. In June 2016, large areas of agricultural land in the south of the Netherlands and in Flanders (Belgium) were subject to floods due to intense rainfall, causing great damage to crops and resulting in failed harvests. Furthermore, the Netherlands, and the province of Noord-Brabant in particular, has also seen a gradual but steady impoverishment of the landscape and decreasing biodiversity that is expected to continue as a result of climate change. Improving the resilience of the agricultural sector is paramount and needed, with drastic changes required in agricultural practices and policies.
Effective climate-adaptation policies should thus pursue the creation of synergies between agriculture, biodiversity, and water management. One way of doing so, is by implementing agroforestry practices, a combination of forestry and agricultural practices.
OBJECTIVES
The project Farm LIFE aimed to contribute primarily to climate change adaptation and secondarily to climate change mitigation and climate governance, as well as to increase agricultural knowledge. It demonstrated innovative adaption technologies, approaches and methods for land use in combination with water management and soil conservation, acknowledging that these considerations needed to be addressed simultaneously when dealing with global climate threats, particularly in delta areas. Specifically, the project aimed to:
- demonstrate innovative adaptation technologies in three locations in the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant, contributing to improved climate resilience, socio-economic development and benefits for the environment and biodiversity;
- promote and replicate technical and methodological results, in particular with regard to the demonstration sites as well as learning tools and methodologies, connecting farmers with each other and with their societal partners in resilient rural networks.
The project contributed to the achievement of objectives set in EU strategy on adaptation to climate change, the 2030 climate and energy framework, the common agricultural policy, the EU Biodiversity Strategy, and the European Water Framework Directive.
RESULTS
Farm LIFE made a tangible contribution to a climate-proof Europe. It helped facilitating the transition from landscapes with conventional monoculture systems to resilient landscapes with diversified agricultural production systems, specifically agroforestry. Farm LIFE helped to create agroforestry networks that strengthen and foster knowledge exchange, both through farmer-to-farmer learning and master classes. It boosted agroforestry to a more professional level in the Netherlands and Flanders, offering prospects for substantial uptake at larger scales in the years to come.
It reached such outcomes by practical implementation in demonstration and replication farms (102 hectares), by developing business partnerships, through food product creation, and by thorough recognition of agroforestry products (via a dedicated agroforestry label), paving the way towards consumer acceptance. The project created practical tools for farmers and other stakeholders to ease the transition to – and implementation of – agroforestry. To prepare future agroforestry transition managers, master classes were also held. The project furthermore demonstrated how agroforestry contributes to lowering the environmental footprint of food systems and add nutritional elements to human diets.
A key output was the development of a methodology for Adaptive Farm Plans, that help farmers find the best solutions tailored to local circumstances and ambitions. A transition toolkit (in Dutch: ‘Kennisbank’ - https://kennisbank.agroforestrynetwerk.nl/) provided a comprehensive website and mobile application for farmers, advisors, and policy officers, offering information and resources to transition to, develop, and support agroforestry systems. The knowledge database offers information on agroforestry methods, products, business processes, subsidies, legislation, and much more. Furthermore, the agroforestry cost-benefit tool, INTACT (https://bdbnet.bdb.be/pls/apex/f?p=147:14), and an online course (E-Academy) were developed to support agroforestry uptake.
The above tools and knowledge will remain available through a range of provincial and national agroforestry networks, which Farm LIFE helped establishing. In particular, the ‘Agroforestry Netwerk Nederland’ will continue to host the transition toolkit, and project partner ILVO will continue hosting the E-academy and INTACT tool.
Key achievements of Farm LIFE include:
- establishment of agroforestry systems on 32 hectares in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands;
- development of Adaptive Farm Plans for three demonstration sites and for at least 100 additional hectares and five farmers on replication sites;
- two Life Cycle Analyses carried out for agroforestry products, comparing animal-based protein with plant-based protein;
- improvement in biodiversity with a 30% habitat increase for indicator species of flora, fungi, soil life, birds, butterflies, reptiles, amphibians and mammals, and a 30% rise in nectar-producing plants for pollinators;
- socio-economic benefits with increased Land Equivalent Ratio (the relative land area required under sole cropping (monoculture) to produce the same yield as under multiple cropping (polyculture)) by at least 30%, measured by, for example, income, nutritional value, calorie output and public interest;
- net carbon removal of 1 ton CO2-equivalent per hectare;
- validation of transition toolkit for farmers and societal partners;
- completion of a transition workshop in Spain and Romania, with farmers and their societal partners (governments, NGOs and businesses), with documentation of results and dissemination on the project website and in national and international fora;
- farmer partnerships for collective purchase, sales and business growth strategies;
- development of food concepts and agroforestry branding taking into account benefits for the climate, biodiversity, food quality, and socio-economic aspects;
- training of a group manager for labeling of agroforestry products;
- synergies with EU, national and regional governments on future policy development for climate-adaptive agriculture and water management;
- national conference and establishing networks for dissemination through online communities, media reports, and distribution of dissemination materials.
