Browsing by Subject "Sustainable soil management"

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    Do agricultural advisory services in Europe have the capacity to support the transition to healthy soils?
    (2022) Ingram, Julie; Mills, Jane; Black, Jasmine E.; Chivers, Charlotte-Anne; Aznar-Sánchez, José A.; Elsen, Annemie; Frac, Magdalena; López-Felices, Belén; Mayer-Gruner, Paula; Skaalsveen, Kamilla; Stolte, Jannes; Tits, Mia
    The need to provide appropriate information, technical advice and facilitation to support farmers in transitioning towards healthy soils is increasingly clear, and the role of the Agricultural Advisory Services (AAS) in this is critical. However, the transformation of AAS (plurality, commercialisation, fragmentation, decentralisation) brings new challenges for delivering advice to support soil health management. This paper asks: To what extent do agricultural advisory services have the capacity to support the transition to healthy soils across Europe? Using the ‘best fit’ framework, analytical characteristics of the AAS relevant to the research question (governance structures, management, organisational and individual capacities) were identified. Analysis of 18 semi-structured expert interviews across 6 case study countries in Europe, selected to represent a range of contexts, was undertaken. Capacities to provide soil health management (SHM) advice are constrained by funding arrangements, limited adviser training and professional development, adviser motivations and professional cultures, all determined by institutional conditions. This has resulted in a narrowing down of access and content of soil advice and a reduced capacity to support the transition in farming to healthy soils. The extent to which emerging policy and market drivers incentivise enhanced capacities in AAS is an important area for future research.
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    Soil-improving cropping systems for sustainable and profitable farming in Europe
    (2022) Hessel, Rudi; Wyseure, Guido; Panagea, Ioanna S.; Alaoui, Abdallah; Reed, Mark S.; van Delden, Hedwig; Muro, Melanie; Mills, Jane; Oenema, Oene; Areal, Francisco; van den Elsen, Erik; Verzandvoort, Simone; Assinck, Falentijn; Elsen, Annemie; Lipiec, Jerzy; Koutroulis, Aristeidis; O’Sullivan, Lilian; Bolinder, Martin A.; Fleskens, Luuk; Kandeler, Ellen; Montanarella, Luca; Heinen, Marius; Toth, Zoltan; Hallama, Moritz; Cuevas, Julián; Baartman, Jantiene E. M.; Piccoli, Ilaria; Dalgaard, Tommy; Stolte, Jannes; Black, Jasmine E.; Chivers, Charlotte-Anne
    Soils form the basis for agricultural production and other ecosystem services, and soil management should aim at improving their quality and resilience. Within the SoilCare project, the concept of soil-improving cropping systems (SICS) was developed as a holistic approach to facilitate the adoption of soil management that is sustainable and profitable. SICS selected with stakeholders were monitored and evaluated for environmental, sociocultural, and economic effects to determine profitability and sustainability. Monitoring results were upscaled to European level using modelling and Europe-wide data, and a mapping tool was developed to assist in selection of appropriate SICS across Europe. Furthermore, biophysical, sociocultural, economic, and policy reasons for (non)adoption were studied. Results at the plot/farm scale showed a small positive impact of SICS on environment and soil, no effect on sustainability, and small negative impacts on economic and sociocultural dimensions. Modelling showed that different SICS had different impacts across Europe—indicating the importance of understanding local dynamics in Europe-wide assessments. Work on adoption of SICS confirmed the role economic considerations play in the uptake of SICS, but also highlighted social factors such as trust. The project’s results underlined the need for policies that support and enable a transition to more sustainable agricultural practices in a coherent way.