A study exploring the emergence of the three main definitions of agroecology: FAO, the Nyéléni Declaration and of the High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) of the Committee on World Food Security

This enhanced ‘roadshow’ webinar brings together key policy experts, researchers and Innovation Hub leads to co-create a shared vision of our food and farming sector that is rooted in resilience and ecological integrity.

This report explores what helps or hinders the success of “Dynamic Agroecological Systems” (DynAEs) across Europe. These are farms, networks, and community initiatives putting agroecology into practice — using nature-based, socially inclusive, and economically fair approaches to food and farming.

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.

How can we incentivise the transition towards agroecology? Beyond the domain addressed by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), there are many other opportunities and actors who can take action.

The Nature Restoration Regulation requires restoring diverse landscape features in intensive agricultural areas, but how should this be done?

When applying flowering inter-row vegetation, one can choose from existing commercial mixtures or compose a mixture specifically designed for one’s site and needs. If so, selecting the right species is crucial.

Twenty-nine organic mixed crop–livestock farms in Guadeloupe were surveyed to characterise their multiperformance using the STREAM tool, developed by Agroecology-TRANSECT project. These farms were selected to reflect the diversity of agroecological crop–livestock integration practices across the archipelago. Given the length and density of the survey guide, the researchers proposed that the field phase be conducted using a participatory approach.

The lack of monitoring and evaluation of CAP support effects on biodiversity has been identified as a major barrier to effective governance of public funding and a source of demotivation for farmers.

In recent years, several EU countries have introduced result-based payment (RBP) schemes to enhance the environmental services provided by agriculture – promoting biodiversity, improving landscape quality, and supporting better water management.

Despite a growing number of initiatives, these schemes remain relatively rare in Europe and are often implemented only as pilots. RBP approaches are generally considered most suitable where they can support existing farming practices and traditional land-use systems, rather than in areas requiring substantial ecological restoration. For this reason, they are particularly relevant for High Nature Value (HNV) farming systems.

Productive grasslands rely often on low plant diversity with high management intensity and fertiliser input. However, research shows that multi-species mixtures can deliver high forage yield and quality with lower inputs and environmental impact. Benefits include improved nutrient use efficiency, weed suppression, resilience to extreme weather, and enhanced soil fertility and biodiversity. The best example is the positive clover-grass combination that reduces the need for mineral nitrogen fertiliser through natural nitrogen fixation.

Ploughing is often criticized for its impact on soils, particularly for the risk of forming a ‘plough pan’, a compacted, repeatedly smoothed layer typically found at a depth of 25–30 cm.

The study conducted by researchers at INRAE Guadeloupe found that wildflower strips support the recruitment and maintenance of parasitoid wasps in the field. Moreover, wildflower strips provide a favorable environment for parasitoid communities, with a steady increase in the number of parasitoids sampled over time. Wildflower strip promote the recruitment of a high diversity of parasitoid wasps including many species associated with the regulation of the melonworm (Diaphania hyalinata), which is the main cucurbit pest in Guadeloupe due to the defoliation it causes.

A flowering inter-row vegetation can only fulfil its potential in promoting beneficial arthropods when the sown flowering plant species are given the opportunity to bloom and produce ripe seeds. Therefore, maintaining a perennial species-rich inter-row vegetation requires some adjustments to the farmers’ mulching regime.

Marcinelle is a system experiment involving 28 dairy cows and their offspring, implemented since 2020 on 62 hectares of permanent grassland at the INRAE Herbipôle experimental farm in Marcenat (French Massif central, 1,100 m asl). It was co-designed in 2019 in a participatory process, and is driven by a collective of researchers and regional stakeholders, including local farmers and citizens.

Agroecological food production in mountain regions, particularly within protected areas, offers specific values but also faces challenges such as production scale and the dispersed distribution. Mountain agroecological food products cannot compete in terms of quantity or price, but rather need to stand in terms of quality and social and ecological values.

Cultural barriers to agroecology are transversal and ubiquitous in Europe, frequently taking the shape of disregard, lack of pride or even shame, for traditional and family farming and food practices. Particularly in remote, mountainous and southern rural areas, making agroecology attractive to the general public and particularly to the youth remains a challenge.