AE4EU: Building a European network on agroecology to accelerate the transition towards sustainable agriculture and food systems.
ECVC [European Coordination Via Campesina] is among 12 European partners which join forces in a coordination and support action to develop a framework for a European network of agroecological living labs, research infrastructure and learning spaces for farmers, research and civil society actors.
European agriculture and food systems are strongly impacted by a large number of challenges such as soil erosion and degradation, water quality, loss of biodiversity, food insecurity, access to land and other productive resources, indebtedness of farmers, loss of farms, and climate change. Agroecology, as a way to design, develop and promote the transition towards biodiversity-friendly, low environmental impacting, and socially and economically just farming and food systems appear as key approaches to face these challenges.
AE4EU is a three years project, that started in January 2021 and aims to enable a successful transition to agroecology through a strong development with ambitious and longer-term joint actions at European level in research, innovation, networks, training and education. Thanks to a European network and the involvement of different actors from diverse horizons and sectors, the project will analyse agroecology through its different pillars: as a science, a set of practices, and a social movement.
12 European partners of the project: ISARA (France), University of Gastronomic Sciences (Italy), Agroecology Europe (Belgium), Coventry University (UK), Thünen-Institute (Germany), Wageningen University and Research (The Netherlands), Agreoecologiki (Greece), European Coordination Via Campesina (Belgium), Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (Italy), University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), Eco Ruralis (Romania) and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Sweden).