ExpectedOutcome:
In line with the European Green Deal priorities and the farm to fork strategy for a fair, healthy and environment‑friendly food system, and in support of the climate objectives of the African Union (AU) and the EU, the successful proposal will contribute to the AU-EU High Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD) on Science, Technology and Innovation, and its priority on Green Transition (and the respective R&I partnerships on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change and Sustainable Energy), as well as to the implementation of the short-term actions outlined in the working document of the AU-EU Innovation Agenda, aiming to translate R&I efforts into tangible business, development and employment opportunities in Africa and Europe.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
- Improved availability of qualitative and quantitative data pertaining to the contribution of agroforestry to climate change adaptation and mitigation, biodiversity preservation, and to sustainable agriculture;
- Improved management of agroforestry systems (conventional, agroecological and/or organic), including agro-pastoral systems, in Africa;
- Enhanced capacities to evaluate the socioeconomic and environmental performance of agroforestry for climate change resilience;
- A strengthened agroforestry innovation ecosystem for better user acceptance and implementation of agroforestry in the African Union (AU).
Scope:
Achieving sustainable agricultural production that fosters both climate change mitigation and adaptation and biodiversity preservation and enhancement is a policy objective that implies finding a balance with farm productivity, socio-economic viability and wider sustainability goals. Agroforestry systems include both traditional and modern land-use systems where trees are managed together with crops and/or animal production systems in agricultural settings. These systems have the potential to increase ecosystem services – including soil carbon sequestration, water retention, erosion control, soil nutrients, pollination, pest- and disease-control – and biodiversity, while improving farming productivity, profitability and sustainability of farmers’ incomes. Implementation of agroforestry in the EU and the AU needs to be boosted in order to maximise this potential. The management of agroforestry systems is critical for their positive impact on climate and the environment as well as to ensure a balance with productivity and profitability for farmers. This is essential to promote the uptake and long-term sustainability of agroforestry.
Proposals should address the following:
- Identification of the most suitable plant and animal species and breeds to be used in agroforestry for different geographic regions in Africa, generating sustainable ecosystems with positive impact on local communities, and on women, looking for models where this impact is greater. In vegetation management systems preference should be given to local species, to avoid potential unintended consequences linked to the introduction of alien species;
- Assessment of local multi-purpose agroforestry species and breeds with benefits for food, pharmaceutical uses as well as ecosystem functions for the soil, biodiversity and their functions in a vegetation mosaic;
- Assessment of specific agroforestry management measures aiming at preserving/enhancing biodiversity;
- Assessment of the potential of carbon farming[1] as a possible future business for farmers and foresters, and analysis of its potential to contribute to reaching climate-neutrality in a few decades;
- Identification of the structural needs of agroforestry crops and animals in different geographical regions in Africa, including the analysis of production burdens, suggesting solutions and addressing traceability of all steps in the production chain to measure the effectiveness of solutions;
- Supporting this new value chain with knowledge and capacity building to be efficient, fair, and easily adopted, or not abandoned, by landowners and farmers;
- Establishing local agroforestry pilot plots.
Proposals must implement the “multi-actor approach” including a wide range of actors to ensure that knowledge and needs from various sectors, such as research, farmers/foresters, advisory services, are brought together.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
Proposals should include a dedicated task, appropriate resources and a plan on how they will collaborate with other projects funded under this topic, as well under topic HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-08: ‘Agroforestry to meet climate, biodiversity and farming sustainability goals’.
Specific Topic Conditions:
Activities are expected to achieve TRL 3-5 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
[1]https://ec.europa.eu/clima/eu-action/forests-and-agriculture/sustainable-carbon-cycles/carbon-farming_en
