Research project AGROMIX: EFFICIENCY AND RESILIENCE OF MIXED FARMING AND AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS

General introduction

The aim of the AGROMIX project is to deliver participatory research to drive the transition to resilient and efficient land use in Europe. AGROMIX will provide practical agroecological solutions for farm and land management, and related value chains. More knowledge is gained regarding strategies to reduce and adapt to climate change in highly complex land use contexts such as mixed farming (MF) systems (i.e. crops and livestock) and agroforestry (AF) systems (i.e. trees and crops and/or livestock).

Research approach

AGROMIX integrates evidence-based, cross-disciplinary contributions (from biophysical to social sciences) with a practice-oriented approach including farmers and other stakeholders. We consider various factors including environment, socio-economics, farm income and supply chain stability. Our approach analyses the provision of ecosystem services (ES) from MF/AF systems. This analysis will be used in the development and implementation of practical solutions for farm and land management systems. This analysis is used develop and implement practical solutions for agriculture and land management to to improve ES and reduce the possible negative interactions (e.g. habitat competition, crop loss, poor air quality, loss of income, loss of biodiversity).

Relevance/Valorization

AGROMIX contributes to new and refined knowledge on the synergies in mixed farming and AF systems at the environmental and socio-economic level. This will deliver practical solutions for land management to achieve climate resilient systems that fulfil the overall target of low-carbon societies. This challenge is in line with the EU Green Deal, the Farm to Fork strategy and the proposed revisions of the EU CAP 2020, which set out to promote the transition to increasingly mixed and resilient farming systems.