Research project Farmlife
The European FARM LIFE project (Farming the Future – Building Rural Networks for Climate-Adaptive Agriculture) runs from September 2018 up to and including August 2023. FARM LIFE is aimed at the transition towards climate-resilient, diversified and multi-layered agricultural systems, with a particular focus on agroforestry practices. It aims to achieve this by pooling and sharing information, developing and demonstrating innovative adaptation strategies, and by bringing together farmers, policymakers and other stakeholders. In this way, FARM LIFE aims to contribute to a climate-resilient Europe.
Partners within FARM LIFE:
- Instituut voor Landbouw-, Visserij- en Voedingsonderzoek (ILVO), Belgium
- Horst Beheer B.V., the Netherlands
- Bosboom B.V., the Netherlands
- Boefkik B.V., the Netherlands
- Stichting Landgoed De Koekoek, the Netherlands
- Forestry Service Group B.V., the Netherlands
- Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, (VHL), the Netherlands (Coordinator)
In Flanders, a major part of the project activities involves the organisation of a series of masterclasses in agroforestry which tackle the technical, economic and legislative components of various subjects. If you are interested in the future masterclasses, let us know by filling in this form or by sending an e-mail to info@agroforestryvlaanderen.be. As soon as the specific dates are known, we will send you an invitation to register. Registrations will be confirmed on a first-come first-served basis. These masterclasses will be given free of charge.
If you would like to find out more about the other activities taking place under FARM LIFE, here is a broad summary of what we are working towards:
- Adaptive Farm Plans. We are developing “adaptive farm plans” which the partner-farmers involved in the project can use to develop profitable agroforestry business models adapted to their specific contexts and conditions.
- Co-creation. We are developing a roadmap for effectively implementing the transition that people have in mind, together with farmer entrepreneurs, knowledge institutions, governments and social partners.
- Transition toolkit. We are building a transition “toolkit”: a set of tools that farmers, policymakers and social actors can use.
- Future transition ambassadors. We are training a large group of future ambassadors who can facilitate and support the transition towards innovative, resilient agricultural practices. This is done via a large programme with Masterclasses and a master training.
- Knowledge sharing. All available and newly-developed knowledge and information within FARM LIFE will be made widely available to anyone interested in this issue. We are direct linking with other EU projects and are developing training tools, including a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC).
- Farmers at the helm. We are working together to build chain arrangements and networks in which farmers can make autonomous decisions and organise their own sustainable networks.
- Creation of added value and competitiveness. We are developing innovative agroforestry food products and marketing strategies.
- Connection with policy. We connect with policymakers and bring attention to the project outcomes at European and regional level (the Netherlands, Flanders).
@farmlife20
@farmlifeforfuture
Presentations Farmlife Masterclasses agroforestry:
Following this link, you can find the presentations of the past Farmlife masterclasses (in Dutch)
