Good Practice - Project
French agroforestry network strengthens skills for climate action
Creating a network of agroforestry stakeholders and providing resources and tools to adapt the sector to climate change.
General information
RDP Priority
- P5. Resource efficiency and climate
RDP Focus Area
- 5E: Carbon conservation & sequestration
RDP Measure
- M16: Cooperation
Beneficiary type
- Operational group
Summary
The SAFARRI EIP project aimed to create a network of agroforestry stakeholders and increase knowledge of agroforestry systems in the Hauts-de-France region.
Led by the Polytechnic Institute UniLaSalle from Beauvais, as well as local associations, public authorities and farmers, this project helped create tools such as a training methodology and agroforestry resources.
The project's research component enabled participants to better evaluate agroforestry's role in climate change adaptation and its importance for regional agriculture.
Results
- Successfully created a farmers' federation working on agroforestry.
- Established a benchmark for regional agroforestry practices.
- Developed a tool to measure the impact of hedges and trees on carbon sequestration.
- Produced freely available resources and tools for all those involved in agroforestry.
Promoter
Institute UniLaSalle Beauvais*
* The Project promoter/beneficiary is an EIP-AGRI Operational Group ©
Funding
Total budget 433 000 (EUR)
RDP support: 346 000 (EUR)
Private/own: 87 000 (EUR)
Resources
Links
Context
By leveraging CAP funds for technological innovation and educational initiatives, the EU can empower farmers to adopt agroforestry methods that enhance their productivity and contribute positively to environmental sustainability. This dual approach will ensure that farmers are well-equipped to navigate the complexities of integrating forestry with agriculture while benefiting from financial support provided by EU policies.
Establishing federations of agroforestry stakeholders presents a viable solution for enhancing agroforestry systems across Europe. These collaborative frameworks can unite farmers, researchers, policymakers and environmental organisations, fostering knowledge exchange and innovation. Stakeholders can develop best practices tailored to diverse European climates and ecosystems by pooling resources and expertise.
Moreover, a federation can help facilitate advocacy for supportive policies that promote agroforestry's ecological benefits, such as biodiversity enhancement and carbon sequestration. Through coordinated efforts in research funding and education initiatives, a federation can strengthen public awareness regarding the importance of sustainable land-use practices. As stakeholders work collectively towards shared goals, they can significantly improve agricultural productivity while ensuring environmental sustainability throughout Europe.
The SAFARRI EIP project was developed in the Hauts-de-France region between 2021 and 2024 with the support of the Polytechnic Institute UniLaSalle Beauvais. It aimed to create a federation for regional stakeholders in agroforestry and to strengthen knowledge and tools for agroforestry systems. Before 2020, the agroforestry sector was poorly structured, and exchanges at a territorial level were limited. SAFARRI supported the organisation of an ecosystem, gathering together the chamber of agriculture, farmers, associations, public authorities and research centres. In terms of deliverables, it led to a deep analysis of the agroforestry models in the Hauts-de-France, their benefits and weaknesses, and their contribution to climate adaptation.
Objectives
The objectives of the project were to:
- Study the diversity of agroforestry in the Hauts-de-France region and draw up a benchmark of these experiences.
- Create tools to assess the contribution of agroforestry to carbon sequestration.
- Develop tools and training opportunities to support farmers with their agroforestry projects.
- Carry out prospective work to understand the impact of agroforestry systems in limiting soil runoff, as well as the impact of climate change.
Activities
The project activities included:
- Creating a farmers federation to strengthen the agroforestry ecosystem at the regional level.
- Developing a benchmark of regional agroforestry practices, describing the approaches and paths taken by farmers and the pitfalls and benefits of their transition to agroforestry.
- Producing a reliable method to evaluate the quantity of carbon biomass gradually sequestered by agroforestry trees and hedges. The project also included a dedicated activity to create an economic calculator, making it possible to estimate the costs and benefits of agroforestry on a farm.
- Designing a resource document representing the strengths and weaknesses of the main forms of regional agroforestry, designed to help agroforestry advisers support agroforestry projects.
- Evaluating how and to what extent agroforestry systems can contribute to limiting runoff and soil runoff in rural areas, mitigating the effects of global warming, and contributing to energy and food self-sufficiency.
Main results
The project led to the following results:
- Successfully created a farmers’ federation working in agroforestry.
- Established a benchmark of agroforestry regional practices, with details about their pitfalls and benefits.
- Developed an abacus to measure the impact of hedges and trees on carbon sequestration.
- Organised workshops and training programmes for farmers in order to support them in the scoping, planning and delivery of agroforestry projects, with a specific training methodology that could be reused in the future.
- Elaborated a prospective analysis on how agroforestry systems can contribute to climate change adaptation.
- Helped identify and compare the specific characteristics of agroforestry in the different regions of Hauts-de-France, for example, the differences between Picardy and Nord-Pas de Calais.
- Produced free available resources and tools that can be used by all those involved in agroforestry.
Key lessons
A number of observations can be made about the project.
- Some project activities could not be carried out. The project was supposed to lead to the creation of an economic calculator to estimate the costs and benefits of agroforestry for farms. Master 2-degree students were to be involved. However, due to the end of the COVID-19 crisis, the students were not available to contribute to the project. As a result, the activity could not be developed due to a lack of resources.
- Several agricultural partners were expected to contribute to the project. However, their commitment was more limited than expected, and their contribution was reduced by more than half. Due to work constraints, they could not devote as many hours to the project as they thought.
- Before the project, the agroforestry and agricultural stakeholders worked together via different structures or organisations (e.g. unions, associations, etc). This sometimes limited their ability to take a collective approach to actions related to agroforestry. The creation of a federation of agroforestry stakeholders provided a solution and is a major step forward for the Hauts-de-France region.
David Grandgirard