Diversification through Rotation, Intercropping, Multiple Cropping, Promoted with Actors and value-Chains towards Sustainability (DiverIMPACTS)

Description:

European arable agricultural systems are often characterized by short rotations, or even monocultures, leading to problems such as higher pest pressure, soil erosion, loss of soil fertility and of biodiversity. Temporal and spatial diversification of crops (through rotation, intercropping and multiple cropping) is a key driver for resource-efficient farming systems that could contribute to increasing the productivity and profitability of agricultural systems, to reducing input use and negative environmental impacts, to providing better products to the society, and to cope with climate change pressures.

The DiverIMPACTS project aims to demonstrate the potential of diversification of cropping systems for improved productivity, delivery of ecosystem services and resource-efficient and sustainable value chains by (i) assessing performances of crop diversification through rotation, intercropping and multiple cropping; (ii) providing rural area actors with those key enablers and innovations that would remove existing barriers and ensure actual uptake of benefits of crop diversification at farm, value chain and territory levels; and (iii) making recommendations to policy-makers to facilitate the coordination of all relevant actors within the value chain.

DiverIMPACTS will build on existing experiences of crop diversification by networking and expanding 10 existing field experiments to quantify impacts of crop diversification and by accompanying 25 multi-actor case studies in their dynamic transition towards sustainable value chain systems characterized by a high level of crop diversification and new market products.

DiverIMPACTS will propose a range of technical and organizational innovations to remove lock-ins from farmers to consumers as well as strategies and recommendations to sustain crop diversification.

Project information

Lead

INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE POUR L'AGRICULTURE, L'ALIMENTATION ET L'ENVIRONNEMENT, France

Partners

ASOCIATIA AIDER AGRICULTURA INTEGRATA DURABIL ECONOMIC RENTABIL, Romania
ASSEMBLEE PERMANENTE DES CHAMBRES D'AGRICULTURE, France
Association de Coordination Technique Agricole, France
ASS GROUPE ECOLE SUPERIEURE AGRICULTURE, France
ASSOCIAZIONE SVILUPPO RURALE, Italy
B.V. EXPLOITATIE RESERVEGRONDEN FLEVOLAND, Netherlands
BAERTSCHI AGRARTECNIC AG, Switzerland
OBSZANSKI TOMASZ, Poland
BIOFORUM VLAANDEREN, Belgium
CENTRE WALLON DE RECHERCHES AGRONOMIQUES, Belgium
CONSIGLIO PER LA RICERCA IN AGRICOLTURA E L'ANALISI DELL'ECONOMIA AGRARIA, Italy
FONDAZIONE ITALIANA PER LA RICERCAIN AGRICOLTURA BIOLOGICA E BIODINAMICA, Italy
FORSCHUNGSINSTITUT FUR BIOLOGISCHEN LANDBAU STIFTUNG, Switzerland
HUSHALLNINGSSALLSKAPET SKANE, Sweden
INAGRO, PROVINCIAAL EXTERN VERZELFSTANDIGD AGENTSCHAP IN PRIVAATRECHTELIJKE VORM VZW, Belgium
INRAE TRANSFERT SAS, France
INSTYTUT UPRAWY NAWOZENIA I GLEBOZNAWSTWA, PANSTWOWY INSTYTUT BADAWCZY, Poland
AGROSOLUTIONS, France
LANDWIRTSCHAFTSKAMMER NIEDERSACHSEN, Germany
LINKING ENVIRONMENT AND FARMING LBG, United Kingdom
MUHLE RYTZ AG, Switzerland
OKOLOGIAI MEZOGAZDASAGI KUTATOINTEZET KOZHASZNU NONPROFIT KFT, Hungary
PROGRESSIVE FARMING TRUST LTD LBG, United Kingdom
QUALITY RESPONSIBLE R SRL, Romania
SERVICES OPERATIONNELS DU COLLEGE DES PRODUCTEURS, Belgium
STICHTING BIONEXT, Netherlands
STICHTING WAGENINGEN RESEARCH, Netherlands
SVERIGES LANTBRUKSUNIVERSITET, Sweden
JOHANN HEINRICH VON THUENEN-INSTITUT, BUNDESFORSCHUNGSINSTITUT FUER LAENDLICHE RAEUME, WALD UND FISCHEREI, Germany
UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Belgium
UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM, Netherlands
WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY, Netherlands
WALAGRI, Belgium

Source of funding

Horizon 2020, European Union and Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, N. 727482