Farm diversification - Projects Brochure

This edition of the Projects Brochure highlights eight farms – mostly small-sized and family-run – that have diversified their activities to cope with the challenges of a fast-changing world.

The CAP 'toolbox' has enabled these farms to stabilise or increase income while also creating employment opportunities and contributing to the local area. The brochure shows a variety of approaches that can be adapted to different farm sizes and models, to the local context, and to societal demands.

The first four projects show how small- and medium-sized farms and family farms have used CAP support to diversify their farms’ activities. They all feature a whole-farm approach, whereby the farm is managed as an integrated ecological and economic system, combining environmental sustainability with economic profitability.

The next four projects are strongly based on networking and collective approaches, and include a strong training and capacity-building component. Diversification is an entrepreneurial opportunity that requires a holistic approach and a carefully planned strategy.

A cross-cutting feature of all these projects is their capacity to combine different priorities of the CAP, such as generational renewal, the bioeconomy and animal welfare. In addition, all these experiences are based on a forward-looking approach, where diversification is used to contribute to a fairer and more sustainable future not only for the direct beneficiaries but also for their communities and future generations.

This edition of the Projects Brochure complements recent EU CAP Network thematic work on farm diversification and offers inspiration to use the CAP to help farms diversify and thrive.