Research and agriculture for a better world

What is Agroecology?

production ecology, resource use efficiency, reducing external inputs, adaptive management, animal welfare, social engagement

Tools

As part of the EU project DigitAF, a virtual space for agroforesters focused on digital tools is under development. The Questions and Answers tool is part of such umbrella and invites you to ask questions, where a community of agroforesters will interact with your question. Just register and throw your question. Try to answer what you can!

As part of the work developed in the AGROMIX EU HORIZON project (2020-2024), this tool aims to provide broader spatial contexts where agroforestry (AF) and mixed farming (MF) could be implemented to increase the environmental resilience of agricultural systems and provide effective climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. This tool is supported by this report [add DOI link here] which describes the backend methodological of deliverable 3.3, the AGROMIX Land Use Change Interactive Map, so called LUCIM.

As part of the Re-Livestock project we are responsible for coordinating data collection from innovative livestock farms. The aim of the data collection is to characterise and monitor the performance of the mitigation and adaptation potential of each farm. The data feeds into other tasks in the project, including a Multicriteria Assessment of farm sustainability that will identify potential trade-offs between sustainability dimensions. The results of the assessments will also be used in farmer workshops to stimulate discussions around sustainability and resilience against climate change. The on-line tool  is multi-lingual, and adapts to the farm system being assessed, by filtering out questions and categories that aren’t relevant, being also interesting for farmers self assessment.

The Public Goods Tool  was initially developed by the UK Organic Research Centre, as part of the Organic Conversion Information Service (OCIS) in 2011. Designed to capture data about farm practices and represent the sustainability and produce of public goods, the PG Tool has since undergone various iterations and adaptations; MVARC has been involved in its most recent iteration that has transformed the original excel-based version into a user-friendly on-line tool as part of the EU Horizon Re-Livestock project.