H2020 AE4EU Project: Agroecology for Europe

By bringing together partners from diverse backgrounds and activities, from universities to grassroots organizations, the AE4EU project delivered a variety of outcomes and products. Understanding the current realities of agroecology in different European countries is a key step toward leveraging existing initiatives and improving agroecology. To this end, the AE4EU project mapped agroecology in 33 European countries.

A unique overview was achieved documenting agroecology initiatives, including practice, research, education and training, the movement, and living laboratories. The results show that agroecology is still not widely recognized by different categories of actors; there are few agroecology education programs; the existence of research teams/departments working in agroecology remains scarce; and movements linked to agroecology were found in most countries, while calls for living laboratories as such were extremely rare. All country results are published in an open-access book. An analysis of current and past agroecology-related research projects, as well as institutions working in agroecology, was conducted, providing insight into how agroecology is understood and applied. In parallel, perceived barriers to the development of agroecology and associated research needs were identified.

The results clearly highlight the existence of different research approaches related to agroecology, ranging from more targeted research to very few studies using a broader, holistic approach, the need for a transdisciplinary approach, as well as the need to further involve a variety of stakeholders in research. The main lessons learned from this work were shared through deliverables, a webinar, and academic articles. Funding is key to supporting and enhancing the development of agroecology. The consortium provided an overview of existing public and private funding schemes dedicated to agroecology. Furthermore, the project initiated exchanges between private and public funders. Public funding programs were investigated through analysis of existing databases at national and European levels, and interviews with stakeholders related to public funding. This has provided insights into existing schemes and their evolution. The work on private financing through desk research, interviews, and workshops with foundations highlights the willingness of a group of foundations already directly or indirectly committed to financing agroecology to expand their participation or supplement existing funding.

Living labs and research infrastructures are key instruments and can be important initiatives to foster the agroecological transition. Using an original approach, the project defined a grid of indicators to characterize existing living labs and provide materials on how to group them and analyze the differences between living labs in relation to the type of stakeholders involved, as well as on how to monitor and evaluate existing living labs. In parallel, three living labs were developed in Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Fostering farmer training around agroecology is one of the key steps to scaling up their development. AE4EU partners developed training guidelines to disseminate and exchange knowledge on the approach and application of agroecology. Finally, to increase the connection between current and future actors in agroecology, the project has laid the foundations for two important initiatives: (i) the development of a European Agroecology Clearing House, and (ii) the creation of the ENAF European Network of Agroecological Food Systems.