Biodiversity monitoring in agricultural landscapes remains a major challenge for European policy implementation. Farmlands are spatially extensive and can be difficult to access, resulting in higher coordination costs and low participation in monitoring activities.

The experience at Biocoop Ștefan cel Mare shows that the UN Food Systems Summit goals are achievable at the farm level today. By combining the "old wisdom" of biodiversity with ‘new tools’ of technology, farmers can build a business that is both environmentally regenerative and economically thriving.

Agroecological transformation is not simply achieved by implementing agricultural technologies. Initiatives (including farmer groups, advisors and other local actors) that want to innovate work in complex, changing conditions, need a practical way to learn, adjust and stay connected.

The goal of this small experiment was to see how slug damage on lettuce could be reduced. 

Two main approaches were chosen:

1. Different types of lettuce were planted ("normal" green lettuce, and red-leaved lettuce, both soft-leaved varieties).

2. Different types of soil cover were used in order to make access to the lettuce plants difficult for the slugs, and ideally impossible.

This enhanced ‘roadshow’ webinar, comprising three presentations and insights from Innovation Hub leads, highlights how biodiversity underpins resilient agroecological systems.

This enhanced ‘roadshow’ webinar focusses on the real-life experiences of those transforming our agricultural systems.

On March 29 2023, Bertrand Dumont, Agroecology-TRANSECT coordinator, delivered a talk entitled 'How animal science can support the role of animals in delivering benefits to society' at the annual meeting of the British Society of Animal Science. He analysed how contrasting options for sustainable animal production and feed-use deliver a number of benefits to society, and on cropland production, by providing manure. 

Until now, most research relating to animal production based on agroecological principles has been conducted at farm scale only, meaning the potential of understanding its impact at societal and food system level has been underexplored.