{"id":2657,"date":"2024-01-29T17:50:48","date_gmt":"2024-01-29T17:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=2657"},"modified":"2024-01-29T17:50:48","modified_gmt":"2024-01-29T17:50:48","slug":"europe-forges-new-bonds-between-agriculture-and-biodiversity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2657\/europe-forges-new-bonds-between-agriculture-and-biodiversity\/","title":{"rendered":"Europe forges new bonds between agriculture and biodiversity"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the environmental and economic costs of industrial farming grow, so do opportunities to spur an ecological change.<\/p>\n

By<\/em><\/strong> \u00a0Jessica Berthereau<\/p>\n

For avocado farmers in Peru, it appears to be a boom time. Their production has increased sixfold over the past decade to meet growing demand abroad.<\/p>\n

But appearances can deceive.<\/p>\n

Farm foundations<\/strong><\/p>\n

These and other single-crop growers are now grappling with rising energy and fertiliser costs and increasing public awareness of the adverse effects of pesticides, according to Brenton Ladd, a researcher at the Scientific University of the South, or UCSUR, near the Peruvian capital Lima.<\/p>\n

\u2018The industrial model of agriculture production begins to look less viable,\u2019 Ladd said.<\/p>\n

In agriculture, growing only one crop \u2013 monoculture \u2013 has tended to encourage increased output by lowering overall costs. But these so-called economies of scale have brought with them environmental threats resulting from intensive production.<\/p>\n

Now, single-crop farming is increasingly an economic risk for producers themselves.<\/p>\n

The EU is tackling both sets of challenges through new policies and research initiatives, harnessing its position both as a major agricultural market and as a leader in the fight to green economic activities including farming.<\/p>\n

Food fashions<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s where Peruvian avocados enter the picture, revealing the EU\u2019s global influence in spurring a shift towards more ecological agriculture.<\/p>\n

Avocados are very much in food fashion across Europe, as shown by the continent-wide abundance of trendy cafes serving avocado on toast.<\/p>\n

This growing consumer demand has helped drive production growth in Peru, which is now the world\u2019s third-largest producer of avocados. It trails only Mexico and Colombia in the global rankings.<\/p>\n

In the Peruvian province of Ica along the Pacific Ocean coast, the surge has resulted in an intensive monoculture of avocados, which require about 10 times more water than tomatoes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The province also grows grapes and asparagus to supply Europe during the winter months. Both grape and asparagus production can be water-intensive too.<\/p>\n

Researchers to the rescue<\/strong><\/p>\n

The EU is funding research to help agricultural producers in Peru as well as 10 European countries operate sustainably and profitably. This is part of a series of European research initiatives<\/a> advancing the EU\u2019s 2030 biodiversity and Farm to Fork<\/a> goals.<\/p>\n

The project, called BioMonitor4CAP<\/a>, runs for four years until the end of November 2026. The European countries represented include Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Poland.<\/p>\n

The researchers are designing advanced biodiversity monitoring systems to accelerate the shift towards sustainable farming.<\/p>\n

Intensive agriculture destroys or damages natural habitats, emits significant quantities of greenhouse gases and eats into water supplies that are ever more precious as global warming accelerates.<\/p>\n

In the EU, one in 10 farms<\/a> followed ecological practices in 2021 \u2013 almost double the share a decade earlier. This shows that growing numbers of European farmers are doing their part to preserve biodiversity.<\/p>\n

The EU has set a goal<\/a> of increasing organic farming\u2019s share to at least 25% by 2030. Recent changes to Europe\u2019s Common Agricultural Policy, or CAP, will bring the target closer.<\/p>\n

Green gains<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0new CAP rules<\/a>, which took effect in 2023, require more environmentally sustainable farming. For example, at least a quarter of direct payments for EU farmers must go for eco-schemes. In addition, a larger amount of financial aid is being directed to smaller farms.<\/p>\n

While the size of agricultural holdings isn\u2019t necessarily an indication of their ecological characteristics, many large farms feature intensive production. And although they account for just 1% of farms worldwide, big ones occupy an estimated\u00a065% of all agricultural land<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Greater biodiversity can reduce business risks from droughts because a mix of crops diversifies water needs, according to Professor Christoph Scherber, head of the Centre for Biodiversity Monitoring at the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change in Germany.<\/p>\n

He said crop variation can also lead to general increases in agricultural output.<\/p>\n

\u2018It is important to show that agriculture can support biodiversity but also to acknowledge that biodiversity itself can bring higher production to farming,\u2019 said Scherber, who coordinates BioMonitor4CAP.<\/p>\n

The project brings together 22 companies, universities, agricultural organisations and other partners in Europe and Peru.<\/p>\n

On-site tests<\/strong><\/p>\n

Biodiversity monitoring is tricky because it can\u2019t be reduced to a single main indicator. Moreover, such diversity can be measured at various levels \u2013 the ecosystem, the species and even, within species, the genetic. Each requires methodical identification.<\/p>\n

A team that includes ecologists, agronomists, ornithologists, soil scientists and biochemists is testing an existing technology called AudioMoth \u2013 a low-cost acoustic-monitoring device for tracking wildlife.<\/p>\n

The researchers are also building on an insect catcher known as a \u201cmalaise trap\u201d by producing a model that does no harm to small creatures.<\/p>\n

\u2018A malaise trap is a tent-like insect trap that usually kills the insects,\u2019 said Scherber. \u2018We\u2019re developing a trap where insects would only be photographed before flying away.\u2019<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the team is using traditional approaches like bird counting.<\/p>\n

The researchers are deploying these monitoring systems on 22 sites, with five major ones being in Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Portugal and the UK.<\/p>\n

At each location, devices are placed in several one-kilometre squares to assess the diversity of species and habitats based on different agricultural practices in the region.<\/p>\n

In Peru, UCSUR and a local avocado, grape and asparagus business called Agricola Chapi are part of the project.<\/p>\n

For the production of avocados, which require pollination along with plenty of water, one challenge being tackled is a shortage of beehives to rent as a result of the industry\u2019s rapid growth.<\/p>\n

To maintain its own pollinators, Agricola Chapi is establishing woodland areas with native plants to provide the needed habitat and food.<\/p>\n

This follows an extensive experiment with a charcoal-like product called biochar that is made from waste biomass, contributes to carbon neutrality and improves soil quality.<\/p>\n

UCSUR is working to facilitate the overall transition by Agricola Chapi.<\/p>\n

\u2018BioMonitor4CAP is perfectly aligned with our needs for state-of-the-art technologies to monitor biodiversity,\u2019 said UCSUR\u2019s Ladd.<\/p>\n

The results are meant to feed into further EU policies, including the CAP, boosting biodiversity in farming. Such steps will also support an EU goal<\/a> to improve soil ecosystems in Europe as well as the service they provide to agriculture.<\/p>\n

Plenty of potential<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a way, the BioMonitor4CAP researchers are picking up where a team under a French researcher named Dr Laure Latruffe left off.<\/p>\n

Based at the French National Institute for Research on Agriculture, Food and the Environment, or INRAE, Latruffe led an earlier EU-funded project into the general prospects for ecological farming in Europe.<\/p>\n

Called LIFT<\/a> \u2013 an acronym for Low-Input Farming and Territories \u2013 the project ran for four years through April 2022. It surveyed agricultural practices involving more than 1 600 farmers in 12 European countries.<\/p>\n

The results indicated that all European farms identified as practising \u201cstandard\u201d, or non-ecological, agriculture have a \u201chigh potential\u201d for adopting ecological practices, which include organic, agroecology and agroforestry.<\/p>\n

But Latruffe, INRAE\u2019s research director, said a range of actors beyond farmers in the EU food-supply chain must play a role in the transition.<\/p>\n

\u2018The entire value chain needs to be involved if we are to achieve this potential,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

Broad-based action<\/strong><\/p>\n

The fertiliser industry needs to provide alternatives to synthetic products while retailers must be willing to offer ecological goods, according to Latruffe.<\/p>\n

She said that, furthermore, governments should support farmers in the transition\u2019s early stages to maintain incomes and consumers have to be willing to buy non-standard products like fruits and vegetables in unusual shapes.<\/p>\n

For their part, countless farmers are interested in making the change because it can lead to technical, environmental and social improvements in agriculture, according to Latruffe.<\/p>\n

She said that LIFT, which developed a tool<\/a> to classify European farms based on their practices and compare their environmental, economic and social performances, will expand the EU\u2019s ability to measure agricultural sustainability.<\/p>\n

In that context, LIFT bolsters a new European law meant to improve the sustainability of the EU\u2019s food systems through broader data collection. The legislation<\/a> covers the Farm Sustainability Data Network, or FSDN, and was approved by EU governments in November 2023.<\/p>\n

\u2018The FSDN is the right way forward,\u2019 said Latruffe.<\/p>\n

Research in this article was funded by the EU\u2019s Horizon Programme. The views of the interviewees don\u2019t necessarily reflect those of the European Commission.<\/em><\/p>\n

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