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2.1 Polish Agroforestry Association (OSA)
3. FEATURED FARM: San Bartolomeo farm in the Lazio Region (Italy)
4. AGFORWARD 2nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
5. AGROFORESTRY EVENT AT EXPO 2015
EURAF participated in several policy and research related events during June and July. The Environment and Climate Change Civil Dialogue Group (CDG) met on 12th June attended by Rosa Mosquera and Gerry Lawson. EURAF Notes from the meeting are available together with the main talks. One highlight was a presentation from the Commission and IUCN about threatened bee species in Europe, where the potential role of agroforestry was emphasised.
Gerry also attended the CDG on Forestry and Cork on 24th June, and EURAF notes are available. Issues covered included: a) the EU Forest Strategy, b) measuring GHG emissions from agriculture and forestry, c) forestry measures in the 2014-2020 Rural Development Programmes (RDPs), d) the Birds and Habitats Directive, e) the EU Timber Regulation, f) the European Network for Rural Development, and g) report on the State of the European Environment 2015. The presentation on the forestry measures indicated that, of the 118 RDPs (including those still unapproved), 36 national or regional plans will include the Measure 8.2 “Establishment of New Agroforestry Systems”. This is a marked increase from the 17 RDPs which included the equivalent measure in the previous CAP.
Nuria Ferreiro Domínguez represented EURAF in the Arable Crops CDG on the sugar sector, and EURAF was invited to give a briefing on agroforestry at the next General Assembly of the Arable Crops CDG in December. The focus will be on using agroforestry practices to promote crop production and enhance ecosystem services. If you wish to participate in this event please contact EURAF (euraf [at] agroforestry [dot] eu (euraf [at] agroforestry [dot] eu)).
EURAF was invited by the DG Agri to participate in the “Stakeholders week” at the EXPO Milano 2015, Italy, next 12th September. Our event is titled “Agroforestry: sustainably feeding the planet and providing energy”, and will discuss the multifunctional role of agroforestry in the production of food, wood, fuel and chemicals. Recent advances in agroforestry were the main subject of the AGFORWARD General Assembly organized in Crete, Greece, 24th-26th June, with the participation of PK Nair, V Nair and J Shibu as external experts from the United States. EURAF was also discussed at the formidable agroforestry event, Marciac Festival, held in the beautiful city of Marciac, France. Excursions for the general public, sessions discussing innovations with researchers, technicians, extension services and policy makers were excellently organised by Alain Canet and Fabien Balaguer of AFAF.
EURAF was represented in the 2015 North American Agroforestry Congress (AFTA) by Jaconnette Mirk from Germany, and in the World Congress on Integrated Crop-Livestock-Forest Systems held in Brazil by Paul Burgess (UK) and Marina Castro (Portugal).
EURAF submitted a reply to the DG CLIMA consultation on reporting GHG emissions from agriculture and forestry where we advised that the EU should adopt a single pillar for integrated reporting on GHG gases and carbon in Agriculture and Forestry (“the AFOLU pillar”). Most farming and forestry sectoral groups and NGOs recommended a different approach, but EURAF’s views are in line with those of IPCC, UNFCCC and the WAC.
Source: María Rosa Mosquera Losada (EURAF President) and Gerry Lawson (EURAF Deputy President), July 2015.
2.1 Polish Agroforestry Association (OSA)
On 18th June 2015, by a decision of Regional Court, Polish Agroforestry Association (OSA – Ogólnopolskie Stowarzyszenie Agroleśnictwa) has been entered into the National Court Register. OSA is managed by an Executive Committee, which is composed of representatives of agronomy, forestry and ecology sciences, university teachers as well as social activists. The association’s goals are to undertake, coordinate and support initiatives related to sustainable development of rural areas and to contribute to better link science, economy and nature and landscape protection in Poland in the context of agroforestry systems. OSA will be represented on EURAF, and will represent the interests of Polish agroforesters in wider European discussions.
If you would like more information about OSA, please contact rborek at iung.pulawy.pl or visit our website.
Source: Robert Borek (EURAF National Delegate), July 2015.
Thanks to the excellent job carried out by Alain Canet and Fabien Balaguer from AFAF, EURAF and AFAF jointly organised a two-week agroforestry event (Paysages in Marciac) at the Marciac Festival (France) from 27th July - 15th August. The program targeted different types of stakeholders from the general public to agroforestry experts. The public enjoyed field visits and the extraordinary exhibition “L’arbre en lumière”.
Agroforestry farms were visited and their agroforestry products were tasted during the lunch with exceptional good agroforestry vegetables, foie gras and patés to Armagac-wine excellent mixtures. A session about agroforestry in Europe was also held.
Fig. 1: Labelled agroforestry products shown in the Marciac Festival (France)
Especially relevant was the two days event linked to the doctorate and post-doctorate research works carried out in France thanks to the Fondation de France. EURAF was represented in this event by Alain Canet, Felix Herzog and Rosa Mosquera. A stakeholder innovation group with the participation of researchers and farmers were also carried out to discuss the future research in France about agroforestry. Among other aspects, agroforestry research should evaluate the interaction between crops and trees in a global framework which considered biodiversity and carbon sequestration. Based on the outcome of this workshop, the Fondation de France will announce its annual call for agroforestry research proposals later this year (details here).
Fig. 2: Marciac Festival (France)
Source: María Rosa Mosquera Losada (EURAF President), Fabien Balaguer (AFAF), Felix Herzog (EURAF National Delegate) and Alain Canet (AFAF), July 2015.
3. FEATURED FARM: San Bartolomeo farm in the Lazio Region (Italy)
The San Bartolomeo farm owned by Mr. Silvio Marsan, is a poultry and olive farm in the Lazio Region, north of Rome, in the province of Viterbo. The farm started this activity only few years ago with a handful of chickens. The owner wanted to rear his animals outdoors, letting them graze the land. He quickly realized that the chickens could provide benefits to the olive orchard in terms of weeding and fertilizing and, vice versa, the olive trees were beneficial for the poultry in terms of shade and protection from some predators. So he built animal shelters, spread over several olive fields (to keep the birds in small units and to optimize grazing uniformity), often adjacent to forest areas to provide increased shelter and feeding opportunities for the birds.
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Fig. 3: Some pictures of the San Bartolomeo farm
The quality of the meat was appreciated by the consumers, despite a premium price, and the business grew quickly (with some help from the mad cow disease and the consequent rise in the demand for poultry meat). Now, 12,000 chickens per week are reared in 4 farm units (each with several different shelters), and processed in a butchering facility (which the farm acquired in order to better control the quality).
The farm is certified as organic, using much more pasture land than the minimum requested by the organic certification. Naked-neck chickens are used for meat, but also turkeys and hens for eggs are reared at the pastures. There is a farm shop where the meat and eggs are sold, but most of the product goes all over Italy.
Fig view website. 4: Farm shop
With growing numbers, the offal and left-overs from the processing, became expensive to get rid of, so Mr. Marsan decided to turn them into an opportunity: he invested in a biogas plant, which ferments the offal, mixed with olive cake from the olive oil pressing facility and other farm materials. The methane produced is then used to generate electric power, sold to the grid. The exhausted material (liquid compost) becomes a perfect fertilizer for the olive trees and goes back to the field. The short distance between the biogas plant and the fields makes it convenient to transport the liquid material without the need to dry it up, saving time and money. The farm is expanding, covering about 130 ha at the moment.
Source: Adolfo Rosati (EURAF Deputy Secretary), July 2015.
4. AGFORWARD 2nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The AGFORWARD consortium held its Second General Assembly at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania in Crete (Greece), between 24th and 26th June 2015. The event was excellently organized by the Professor Anastasia Pantera and the Greek team.
Fig. 5: Participants in the AGFORWARD 2nd General Assembly
The General Assembly was really intense during the two days it lasted. Different workshops related to several workpackages of the project were carried out and a pre-assembly workshop was held on 23rd June focusing on delivering agroforestry benefits at landscape level. The last day of the General Assembly included a field trip, led by Professor Vasilios Papanastasis, who did an extraordinary job explaining to the participants several excellent examples of agroforestry implementation in Crete.
During the General Assembly, Professor Shibu Jose from the University of Missouri and Professors PK Nair and Vimala Nair from the University of Florida, all of them members of the AGFORWARD External Expert Advisory Panel encouraged the participants in the General Assembly to promote of agroforestry in Europe and commended the excellent results that AGFORWARD is delivering.
Some of the partners of the AGFORWARD project also participated in the workshop on modelling of High Value Tree Systems organized by Joao Palma (ISA) in Greece from 27th June to 4th July 2015 with very productive results for agroforestry in Europe.
Fig. 6: Some pictures of the AGFORWARD 2nd General Assembly
The next AGFORWARD General Assembly is scheduled for 23rd to 24th May 2016 in Montpellier, France, to tie in with the third European Agroforestry Conference which is scheduled for 25th to 27th May 2016.
Source: María Rosa Mosquera Losada (EURAF President) and Nuria Ferreiro Domínguez (USC), July 2015.
5. AGROFORESTRY EVENT AT EXPO 2015
Saturday 12th September 2015, 11.00-18.00
EXPO 2015 (EU Pavilion), Milan, Italy
Agroforestry: sustainably feeding the planet and providing energy
Organized by the European Agroforestry Federation (EURAF) within the Week of Events of DG AGRI Stakeholders – Expo Milano 2015
This event will seek to explain how agroforestry can contribute to improved food, fibre and energy security in Europe while enhancing the environment.
To register or for more information please check the EURAF website, events page.
5th International Symposium for Farming Systems Design
The 5th International Symposium for Farming Systems Design will take place at The Corum Convention Center, Montpellier, France, during 7th - 10th September 2015. The theme of the Symposium will be: "Multi-fuctional farming systems in a changing world". More info here.
Source: Fabien Balaguer, AFAF, France, June 2015.
9th International Symposium on Plant-Soil Interactions at Low pH
The 9th International Symposium on Plant-Soil Interactions at Low pH will take place in Dubrovnik, Croatia during 18th - 23th October 2015. More info here.
Source: Vladimir Ivezić, Faculty of Agriculture Osijek, Croatia, June 2015.
12th European IFSA (International Farming Systems Association) Symposium
The 12th European IFSA Symposium will take place at Harper Adams University, Shropshire, UK during 12th - 15th July 2016. The theme of the Symposium will be: "Social and technological transformation of farming systems: Diverging and converging pathways". More info here.
Source: Paul Burguess, Cranfield University, UK, June 2015.
EcoSummint 2016, Ecological Sustainability: Engineering Change
The 5th International EcoSummit Congress will take place at The Corum Convention Center, Montpellier, France during 29th August - 1st September 2016. More info here.
Source: Paul Burguess, Cranfield University, UK, June 2015.
This is your newsletter! If there’s anything you think should be included, please pass suggestions to euraf [at] agroforestry [dot] eu (euraf [at] agroforestry [dot] eu) for inclusion in the next issue.
This newsletter is carried out in collaboration with the European AGFORWARD Project.
Editors-In-Chief: Nuria Ferreiro-Domínguez and María Rosa Mosquera-Losada
Editorial Committee: Rosa Mosquera Losada, Gerry Lawson, Jeroen Watté, Adolfo Rosati, Sylvène Laborie-Roussel, Joana Amaral Paulo, Bert Reubens, Bohdan Lojka, Alain Canet, Xavier Devaux, Norbert Lamersdorf, Heinrich Spiecker, Konstantinos Mantzanas, Anastasia Pantera, Andrea Vityi, Andrea Pisanelli, Sami Kryeziu, Robert Borek, João Palma, Gerardo Moreno, Johanna Björklund, Felix Herzog, Mareike Jäger, Mark Vonk, Emiel Anssems, Jo Smith, Mike Strachan.
English Reviewer: Mercedes Rois-Díaz
Edition Place: Lugo (Spain)
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