DiverIMPACTS press release: Promoting crop diversification in European agriculture - New project launched

(Thiverval-Grignon, August 15, 2017) DiverIMPACTS ˗ Diversification through Rotation, Intercropping, Multiple Cropping, Promoted with Actors and value-Chains towards Sustainability ˗ is funded under the European Union´s research and innovation programme Horizon 2020 and will demonstrate the benefits of crop diversification*.

Furthermore, the project strives to support the removal of barriers to crop diversification, and it will help to promote the uptake of crop diversification at farm, supply chain and territory levels.

Recommendations for policy makers will be elaborated in order to facilitate the coordination of all relevant actors within the value chain.

The project builds on the experience of 10 existing field experiments, which will be used to quantify the impacts of crop diversification. DiverIMPACTS will also work with and support 25 innovation groups in their dynamic processes to develop sustainable value chains characterized by a high level of crop diversification and new market products. The innovation groups include a wide range of actors such as farmers, advisors, processors and scientists.

The project, which is running from 2017 to 2022, is coordinated by the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and brings together a broad consortium of 34 partners from 11 European countries. The partnership is comprised of farmers and farmer organisations, advisory services, cooperatives, logistics providers, scientists, industry professionals, and representatives of civil society and rural areas.

^{*Crop diversification can be achieved by a variety of techniques such as a) growing different crop species on the same land in successive growing seasons (i.e. rotation), b) growing different crop species on the same land within a growing season (i.e. multiple cropping), and c)growing different species in proximity in the same field, (i.e. mixed, row and strip intercropping).}

For more information

Contact

Project contact

• Dr. Antoine Messéan
  DiverIMPACTS coordinator
  National Institute for Agricultural Research INRA
  Avenue Lucien Brétignières
  78850 Thiverval-Grignon
  France
  Phone +33 1 30 81 52 09
  antoine.messean@inra.fr
  www.inra.fr
• Dr. Didier Stilmant
  DIverIMPACTS deputy coordinator
  Centre Wallon de Recherche Agronomiques CRA-W
  Rue de Liroux 9
  5030 Gembloux
  Belgium
  Phone +32 61 23 10 13
  d.stilmant@cra.wallonie.be
  www.cra.wallonie.be

Project communication

•  Dr. Helga Willer
  Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL
  Ackerstrasse 113
  5070 Frick
  Switzerland
  Phone +41 62 865 72 07
  helga.willer@fibl.org
  www.fibl.org

Project website and Twitter account

• www.diverimpacts.net
• twitter.com/DiverIMPACTS
• Hashtag: #DiverIMPACTS

Press release as Word and PDF document

• DiverIMPACTS press release: Promoting crop diversification in European agriculture - New project launched (Word)
• DiverIMPACTS press release: Promoting crop diversification in European agriculture - New project launched (PDF)

Diverimpacts partners

The DiverIMPACTS project has 34 partners form 11 European countries. (See also www.diverimpacts.net/partners.html)

• ACTA ˗ Association de coordination technique agricole, France
• Agrosolutions ˗ In Vivo Agrosolutions SAS, France
• AIDER ˗ Agricultura Integrata Durabila Economic Rentabila, Romania
• APCA ˗ Assemblee permanente des Chambres d'agriculture, France
• ASR ˗ Associazione sviluppo rurale, Italy
• Baertschi ˗ Baertschi Agrartecnic AG, Switzerland
• Barwy Zdrowia, Poland
• BioForum ˗ BioForum Vlaanderen, Belgium
• Bionext ˗ Stichting Bionext, The Netherlands
• CRA-W ˗ Centre Wallon de Recherche Agronomiques, Belgium
• CREA ˗ Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria, Italy
• ERF ˗ B.V. Exploitatie Reservegronden Flevoland, The Netherlands
• ESA ˗ Association groupe école supérieure d’agriculture d’Angers, France
• FiBL ˗ Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, Switzerland
• FIRAB ˗ Fondazione italiana per la ricerca in agricoltura biologica e biodinamica, Italy
• HS ˗ Hushallningssaellskapet skane, Sweden
• INAGRO ˗ Provinciaal extern verzelfstandigd agentschap in Privaatrechtelijke Vorm, Belgium
• INRA ˗ French National Institute for Agricultural Research, France
• IT ˗ INRA Transfert S.A., France
• IUNG-PIB ˗ Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation, State Research Institute, Poland
• LEAF ˗ Linking Environment and Farming, UK
• LWK ˗ Landwirtschaftskammer Niedersachsen, Germany
• Mühle Rytz AG, Switzerland
• NSF ˗ NSF Romania, Romania
• ÖMKi ˗ Ökologiai Mezogazdasagi Kutatointezet Kozhasznu Nonprofit KFT, Hungary
• ORC ˗ Organic Research Centre, UK
•  SoCoPro ˗ Services opérationnels du Collège des producteurs, Belgium
•  SLU ˗ Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
•  TI ˗ Thünen Institute for Biodiversity, Germany
•  UCL ˗ Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium
•  UvA ˗ University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
•  WUR-FSE ˗ Wageningen University & Research, Farming Systems Ecology Group, The Netherlands

Funding

The project DiverIMPACTS - "Diversification through Rotation, Intercropping, Multiple Cropping, Promoted with Actors and value-Chains towards Sustainability" is supported by the European Union's HORIZON 2020 research and innovation programme under the Grant Agreement no 727247 and by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) under contract number 17.00092.
The views expressed in this press release are the sole responsibility of the authors and publishers and arguments employed in this press release do not necessarily reflect the official views of the European Commission and the Swiss government. Neither the European Commission/SERI nor any person acting behalf of the Commission/SERI is responsible for the use which might be made of the information provided in this press release.