Focus Group 'Crop associations including Milpa and protein crops'
How to integrate crop associations into existing cropping systems and farm landscapes to increase farm resilience and efficient use of natural resources while reducing the dependency on external inputs?
Tasks
- Identify, describe and classify with adequate examples, existing or new plant associations, adapted to each farming system within their landscapes and local/regional conditions.
- Analyse the impact of the most promising crop associations on the environment, on the farmers’ productivity, profitability and resilience to climate change.
- Identify their success and fail factors and barriers for implementation and adaptation in different regions.
- Explore the role of innovation and knowledge exchange in addressing the challenges identified such as crop selection, crop rotation management, machinery, and product end use.
- Propose potential innovative actions and ideas for Operational Groups to stimulate the use and improvement of crop associations at farm level considering the impact on the landscape.
- Identify needs from practice and possible gaps in knowledge related to crop associations which may be solved by further research.
EIP-AGRI Challenge
In France, Émilie Combebiac and Martin Helmas are testing new crop mixtures, and comparing the impact on soil fertility and crop quality.
Focus Group members
| Mr/Ms | Surname | First name | Country | Profession |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. | Ait Barka | Essaid | France | Researcher |
| Mr. | Badenes Perez | Francisco Ruben | Spain | Researcher |
| Mr. | Baranger | Alain | France | Researcher |
| Mr. | Bortolussi | Stefano | Italy | Farm advisor |
| Mr. | Bourke | Martin | Ireland | Farm advisor |
| Mr. | Brüning | Fokko | Germany | Farmer |
| Mr. | Deasy | Maurice | Ireland | Expert from an organisation, network, group or enterprise |
| Mr. | Finch | Joshua | Finland | Other |
| Mr. | Fogelberg | Fredrik | Sweden | Researcher |
| Mr. | Giamoustaris | Athanasios | Greece | Expert from an organisation, network, group or enterprise |
| Mr. | Hatt | Séverin | Germany | Researcher |
| Mr. | Hohmann | Pierre | Spain | Farm advisor |
| Mr. | Kussmann | Sebastian | Switzerland | Expert from an organisation, network, group or enterprise |
| Ms. | Pampana | Silvia | Italy | Researcher |
| Mr. | Schöb | Christian | Spain | Researcher |
| Mr. | Stomph | Tjeerd Jan | Netherlands | Researcher |
| Mr. | van Buuren | Arjen | Netherlands | Farmer |
| Mr. | van Dorst | Ivar | Netherlands | Farm manager or owner |
| Mr. | van Schie | Robin | Netherlands | Entrepreneur |
| Ms. | Watson | Christine | United Kingdom | Researcher |
Facilitation team
| Ms | Karley | Alison | Coordinating expert |
| Mr | Schreuder | Remco | Task manager |
| Mr | Loureiro Veira | Xurxo | Co-task manager |
Working documents
Four Mini Papers have been developed within the frame of the EU CAP Network Focus Group ‘Crop associations including Milpa and protein crops’ with the purpose of providing input to the Focus Group discussions and final report.
The information and views set out in these Mini Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Commission. The Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this Mini Papers. Neither the Commission nor any person acting on the Commission’s behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.
If you wish to cite these Mini Papers, please refer to them as ‘Annexes to the final report of the EU CAP Network Focus Group ‘Crop associations including Milpa and protein crops’, 2024’.
Resources
Documents
Annex 4 – Mini Paper 1: Cultivar testing as a key to boost uptake of crop associations in breeding and farming
(PDF – 460.2 KB)
Annex 4 – Mini Paper 2: A value chain perspective on crop associations
(PDF – 722.2 KB)
Annex 4 – Mini Paper 3: Integrating crop associations into farming systems
(PDF – 1.26 MB)
Annex 4 – Mini Paper 4: Crop association practices: Where and how to find them?
(PDF – 1.29 MB)
Starting Paper - Crop associations including milpa and protein crops
(PDF – 1.38 MB)
