BOND Project

Some BOND partners are working on a new Horizon 2020 Project: Agroecology 4 Europe (AE4EU).

We really hope that learnings from BOND will benefit this project and that AE4EU may bring about positive changes especially around funding for Agroecology in Europe in the medium to long term...

If you'd like to feed into this by sharing your knowledge and experience of funding for agroecology in your country, please be in touch with Lindy: lindy.binder@coventry.ac.uk

Project press release below:

Agroecology, Europe’s new challenge

AE4EU: Building a European network on agroecology to accelerate the transition towards sustainable agriculture and food systems.

“Europe is now at a turning point regarding the future of European agriculture. Agroecology is a key concept for embracing practice, research, innovation, and education, and being essential to transform our agricultural and food system and tackle the climate and nature emergencies and at the same time providing healthy food based on a strong and living rural environment. I expect the AE4EU project having a key impact in supporting this transition.”

Dr Alexander Wezel, Director of Research at ISARA, Lyon, France

12 European partners join forces in a coordination and support action to develop a framework for a European network of agroecological living labs, research infrastructure and learning spaces for farmers, research and civil society actors.

European agriculture and food systems are strongly impacted by a large number of challenges such as soil erosion and degradation, water quality, loss of biodiversity, food insecurity, access to land and other productive resources, indebtedness of farmers, loss of farms, and climate change. Agroecology, as a way to design, develop and promote the transition towards biodiversity-friendly, low environmental impacting, and socially and economically just farming and food systems appear as key approaches to face these challenges.

AE4EU is a three years project, that started in January 2021 and aims to enable a successful transition to agroecology through a strong development with ambitious and longer-term joint actions at European level in research, innovation, networks, training and education. Thanks to a European network and the involvement of different actors from diverse horizons and sectors, the project will analyse agroecology through its different pillars: as a science, a set of practices, and a social movement.

AE4EU objectives

Increase connections between relevant actors

Understanding, mapping and identifying the state of the art of agroecology in European countries as well as the actors involved is the indispensable foundation to connect relevant actors and grasp agroecology at the European level. One goal is to establish a European Agroecology Exchange Network.

Develop skills and methods for developing research infrastructure and living labs

Living Labs are user-centred, open innovation ecosystems based on a participatory co-creation approach including the user as well as actors from various backgrounds for integrating in real life communities and setting. The establishment of living labs, research infrastructure and agroecology-territories are key to allow a successful transition to agroecology. AE4EU will develop a framework aiming to favour and to assess past and ongoing agroecological living labs, research infrastructure and agroecology-territories.

Prepare funders for increased and complementary funding of agroecology

AE4EU will identify potential adaptations for long-term funding schemes to support enhanced cooperation and coordination of public and private national or European funders and develop recommendations for enlarged and complementary funding.

Improve human and social capital

A European Agroecology Exchange Network Hub that will include a diversity of stakeholders (such as farmers, up- and down-stream businesses, researchers, consumers and citizens) will be set up in order to facilitate knowledge exchanges in the Europe-wide network of agroecology; identify pathways of co-development and co-learning for strengthened agroecological research and innovation.

Improve capacity to tailor policy interventions to specific situations

AE4EU will identify and analyse policy frameworks that include elements of agroecology. Recommendations for future policies that support and promote the development of agroecology in Europe will be provided, in particular considering the context and aims of the Eco-schemes and the recently approved European Green Deal, Farm to Fork strategy and the CAP.

Provide a road map and a stakeholder network framework for a European partnership in agroecology

AE4EU will develop a road map and framework for a European network that includes agroecological living labs, research infrastructure and other relevant actors to build a European partnership. The overall goal is to accelerate the transition towards sustainable farming and food systems practices by promoting networking, connectivity and place-based innovation in a co-creative environment.

12 European partners of the project: ISARA (France), University of Gastronomic Sciences (Italy), Agroecology Europe (Belgium), Coventry University (UK), Thünen-Institute (Germany), Wageningen University and Research (The Netherlands), Agreoecologiki (Greece), European Coordination Via Campesina (Belgium), Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (Italy), University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), Eco Ruralis (Romania) and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Sweden).

Coordinator of the project: Alexander Wezel – ISARA, France Contact - Baptiste Grard – ISARA, bgrard@isara.fr

Colleagues at Coventry University have written a new open access book:

Agroecology Now! Transformations Towards More Just and Sustainable Food Systems https://www.agroecologynow.com/hot-off-the-press-new-open-access-book-on-transformations-towards-more-just-and-sustainable-food-systems/

By: Colin R. Anderson, Janneke Bruil, Michael Jahi Chappell, Csilla Kiss and Michel Pimbert

This new open access book develops a framework for advancing agroecology transformations focusing on power, politics and governance. It explores the potential of agroecology as a sustainable and socially just alternative to today’s dominant food regime.

The authors analyse the conditions that enable and disable agroecology’s potential and present six ‘domains of transformation’ where it comes into conflict with the dominant food system. They argue that food sovereignty, community-self organization and a shift to bottom-up governance are critical for the transformation to a socially just and ecologically viable food system.

The last part of the book articulates a new way of thinking about the ‘effects of governance interventions’ as various actors intentionally or inadvertently influence transitions to sustainability in territories with a focus on shifting toward a transformative agroecology.

Those that undermine agroecology by (i) suppressing and (ii) co-opting;
those that maintain the status quo by (iii) containing and (iv) shielding and
those that enable transformative agroecology by (v) supporting and nurturing and (vi) releasing and anchoring.

The analysis draws from political ecology and the multi-level perspective on sustainability transitions, ultimately making the case for food sovereignty, community-self organization and a shift to bottom-up governance as the basis for transformation towards a socially just and ecologically regenerative food system.

The book builds on our wider work at AgroecologyNow! Many open access publications on this topic are available here. This ‘backgrounder‘ presents a concise illustration one part of the overall framework in the book, explaining the notion of Domains of Agroecology Transformations.

Anderson, C.R., Bruil, J., Chappell, M.J., Kiss, C., and Pimbert, M.P. (2020). Agroecology Now! Transformations Towards More Just and Sustainable Food Systems. Palgrave MacMillan.