General Farmers with Trees: The Road to 2035

15/10/2024

On this page you will find all presentations of the event "Farming with Trees" from 15th October 2024 and new, relevant information. How does agroforestry respond to the major challenges we face? What do we know about carbon sequestration, water management, biodiversity, microclimate, crop yields and other effects of agroforestry? How does the Consortium Agroforestry Flanders offer support and facilitate knowledge exchange? What are the next steps and who will take them?

After 10 years of scientific research, we were able to give well-founded answers to these questions during the agroforestry event of 2024 at ILVO on October 15: "Farming with trees: the road to 2035". We also set the stage for the next 10 years. In a roadmap, 5 paths are laid out to create a stimulating environment in Flanders for agroforestry.

Following the event, this press release was published.

Presentations from the plenary session

Introduction and activities of the Consortium (in Dutch) (Bert Reubens, coördinator Agroforestry Vlaanderen)
A brief overview of our recent research (in Dutch) (Willem Van Colen, Helena Tavernier en Sarah Carton)
Agroforestry map of Flanders + audience pitches (in Dutch) (Sarah Carton)
Keynote delivered by Mark Shepard (author of the book "Restorative Agriculture")- watch it here
Agroforestry Ambassadors (in Dutch)

Panel discussion

With Elise Van Broeckhoven (Plukboerderij Grondig), Nico Vandervelpen (Hoeve De Peinwinning), Franky Bossuyt (VUB), Jan Wyckaert (Rikolto - expert in sustainable retail) and Bram Bombeek (spokesperson and advisor to Minister Brouns).

Video panelgesprek

Conclusion - video message by minister Jo Brouns (in Dutch)

Parallel workshops

In conversation with Mark Shepard about research on agroforestry, restorative agriculture and water management.

In this workshop, Mark Shepard engaged with researchers: why should we engage in research on agroforestry and other forms of restorative agriculture? Where are the greatest needs and issues? How does water management fit into this story? This workshop is specifically for participants with a role in research.
Link to presentation (in English)

Agroforestry and policy: opportunities, bottlenecks and the way forward.

During this workshop, we engaged in discussions about legislation and policies relevant to agroforestry, drew inspiration from neighboring countries, and put ideas on the table to remove barriers for agroforestry farmers.
Link to presentation (in Dutch)
Insteek vanuit Nederland

Getting started with the Agroforestry Planner: what can decision support tools do for you?

When drawing up an agroforestry plan, you have to make a lot of decisions and it can be challenging to predict an uncertain future. To provide support with this, we developed the Agroforestry Planner, a digital interactive platform with different modules for tree species selection (DENTRO), preparing a plan (BETULA), cost-benefit analysis (INTACT), estimating carbon sequestration (CARAT), and choosing nut harvesters (MIMOSA), among others. During this workshop, we told you how to use the tools to their best advantage.
Link to presentation (in Dutch)

Learning networks around agroforestry: lessons learned from previous projects and how to move forward?

Agroforestry can be knowledge-intensive, requiring insights from many disciplines to make it a success story. In this workshop, we talked about how we have formed learning networks in recent years, where farmers and other actors can share experiences and knowledge with each other. We also reflected together on how this can be followed up in the near future.
Link to presentation (in Dutch)

The financial picture of agroforestry entrepreneurs: can agroforestry be profitable and what revenue models exist?

For a lot of start-up agroforestry applicators, understanding costs, benefits and revenue models is a big question. Can agroforestry be profitable? What markets are there for products from agroforestry? We looked at a cost-benefit analysis of a specific case for inspiration and then interactively reflect together on possible earning models for agroforestry.
Link to presentation (in Dutch)

Site visit: experimental agroforestry at ILVO

During this site visit, participants were able to learn about research at one of the experimental agroforestry sites at ILVO.
More info about this and other experimental sites

Evening program

Belgian premiere of the documentary "Bomen op mijn land" ("Trees on my land"). The agricultural council of the Dutch embassy, the documentary filmmaker (Joris Van der Kamp), one of the farmers in the film (Diderik Clarebout - De Woudezel) and Bert Reubens (Agroforestry Flanders coordinator) shared their insights.

New handbook

A scoop at the event was also the launch of the new Handboek Agroforestry in Vlaanderen 2014 - 2024: Leidraad na 10 jaar Onderzoek en Praktijkwerking.

The partners of the Consortium Agroforestry Flanders have worked together over the past 10 years in more than 20 projects focusing on research, knowledge sharing, learning networks, farm guidance, policy work and implementation in the field, among other things. This produced a lot of concrete figures on the impact of trees on crop production, soil quality, carbon storage, biodiversity and profitability. But they also developed a lot of factsheets, digital decision support tools, online teaching modules and an agroforestry map. All of that can be found in the handbook.

New videos

During the plenary presentations, the speakers were interspersed with various videos, on which members of the Consortium demonstrated various demosites and even pioneer farmers. You can find them here:

Roadmap: toward a supportive environment for agroforestry in Flanders

Since the agroforestry subsidy was created in 2012 in Flanders, about 280 hectares of new agroforestry plots have applied for support. The total acreage is higher because not all farmers apply for the grant, but implementation remains limited regardless. To create an enabling environment for agroforestry, the Consortium published a roadmap of priority actions by 2035. This included input from the master classes, field trips, workshops and analyses organized or conducted by the Consortium in recent years.

According to the roadmap, there is work to be done on five "paths": in research and development, education, policy, economy and social environment. Concrete bottlenecks cited include access to land, fair prices, remuneration of ecosystem services, but also lack of experimentation space by pioneering farmers and the need for independent advice and guidance. But there are also many opportunities. For each of these five paths, the Consortium Agroforestry Flanders puts forward a vision for the future. The roadmap will soon be publicly available.

With support from:

Mark Shepard

The keynote and workshops with Mark Shepard frame a full week around water + agroecology. To what extent does agroecology offer an answer to perishing climate records? And what role does water play in the agricultural system of the future? During this multi-day event from Oct. 14 to Oct. 19, 2024, we engaged in a dialogue with everyone who wants to delve into these topics. From conscious gardener to concerned policy maker to proactive farmer. Relive it in this short aftermovie and at www.herstellende-landbouw.be/event.