Raziskovalni projekti

The AGRIECOMED – Agroecological Practices to Support Productivity, Soil Health, Biodiversity, and Socioecological Sustainability under Climate Change in Smallholder Farms in the Mediterranean Region project aims to boost the adoption of agroecological practices on farms across different climatic conditions in the Mediterranean region and thereby contribute to ensuring food security under climate change.

The project builds on ten experimental pilots comprising three Living Labs and seven Transitional Labs. These Labs encompass a broad range of agroecological practices built on biodiversity and aim to quantify the benefits of such practices for ecosystem functioning and the socio-economic resilience of farms in a changing environment. The project includes areas under current and future Mediterranean climatic conditions, enabling their analysis and comparison while promoting knowledge exchange among the different Labs.

AGRIECOMED fosters a co-creation approach in multi-actor settings, addressing potential levers and barriers to the implementation of agroecological practices. The project focuses on animal, plant and soil health and production, as well as understanding the underlying patterns and processes for improved management and sustained delivery of ecosystem services. It also addresses biogeochemical cycling and explores the impact of possible policy measures, including carbon credits, on the adoption of agroecological practices.

Particular emphasis is placed on local practices in each study region and on knowledge transfer across regions to encourage stakeholders to adopt new agroecological practices and enable their wider uptake across the Mediterranean region. A common set of practices will be assessed across research sites to evaluate their broader applicability and replicability. The project follows the One Welfare perspective, focusing on the relationships between humans, animals and the environment and seeking solutions that do not disadvantage any of these components.

Project objectives

The main objectives of the project are:

1. To increase the understanding of agroecological practices based on pilot experiments in a variety of agricultural systems in the Mediterranean region and beyond.
2. To transfer the knowledge gained through multi-actor co-creation and gain new insights into the use of these practices by upscaling them to smallholder farms in Living Labs.
3. To evaluate the implementation of agroecological practices, including the advantages and constraints to be considered by policy-makers.
4. To assess the benefits of agroecological practices for animal, plant and soil health and production, ecosystem functioning and the socio-economic resilience of farms.
5. To promote knowledge transfer and the wider uptake of successful agroecological practices across different regions and support their broader implementation throughout the Mediterranean region.