News and Events

Patrick Worms, a Cambridge-educated molecular geneticist, is President of EURAF. He also represents CIFOR-ICRAF  (aka Centre for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry) to policy makers, donors and corporate partners in Brussels and elsewhere in Europe.

This is a pre-event towards the 5th European Agroforestry Conference, Agroforestry and the Green Architecture of the New cap. The three-day event will be held on the 16th, 17th and 18th of November 2020.

The General Assembly of EURAF is on going from 6 to 8 pm CET on line. Find all the support presentations of the country updates in this news.

A new Call for Abstract, only for poster presentation, is open. The deadline for the abstract submission is on the 15th of January 2021.

EURAF General Assembly is scheduled on-line for the 9 November 2020 from 6 to 8 CEST. It happens only every two years. So, let's participate!

EURAF's 8th Agroforestry Policy Briefing looks in detail at the carbon-sequestration potential of agroforestry systems.  Agroforestry generally meets the carbon-project requirements for permanence ; leakage and additionality - but has high environmental benefits to society.

 This Briefing considers how the Commission and Agricultural Ministers propose to measure the success of national measures included in their CAP Strategic Plans.

Pillar II in the new CAP will give longer-term support to farmers for measures helping the environment and climate.  There will not be a menu of EU options for MS to choose from, but EURAF is suggesting to Member States...

Prof Jim McAdam (an Irish delegate to the Executive Board of EURAF) gave a presentation during DGCLIMA's 2^nd Carbon Farming Roundtable on Wednesday, Sept. 23 on the results of a 30 year silvopastoral experimental trial at Loughgall, Northern Ireland.

One of the few silver linings to the Brexit clouds is the opportunity it gives the United Kingdom to experiment with different ways of supporting its farmers - and, judging by the herculean efforts needed to try to make the CAP agroforestry-friendly, those of us still in Europe may envy our British colleagues this opportunity!

Thanks to the effort of our Czech colleagues Jakub Houška and Bohdan Lojka, the IUAF has a home!

EURAF proposes five Agroforestry and Landscape Feature Eco-Schemes:

a) Planning for Agroforestry and Landscape Features

b) Tree-Landscape-Feature Establishment;

c) Tree-Landscape-Feature Enrichment;

d) Agroforestry Establishment;

e) Regeneration of Mature Agroforestry.

In late July, EURAF member and guiding light of the Woodland Forum, Stephen Briggs, had the pleasure of hosting a most distinguished visitor on his farm: His Royal Highness Charles, Prince of Wales.

We invite you, to publish your scientific results of your agroforestry experiments with alley cropping systems in the Special Issue "Alley Cropping—Agroforestry Systems".

What is "enhanced conditionality" in the new CAP?  How does it differ from the "cross-compliance" we all love? What are the ten Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (or maybe Commandments)? Why are Parliament, Agriculture Ministers and the Commission fighting tooth and nail about something as innocent sounding as "GAEC-9".

Agroforestry is represented quite prominently in German TV and radio recently. The selected statements could help to transport the topic further into the population and politics.

The French Agroforestry Development Plan, running from 2015 to 2020, was set up by the French Government and coordinated by the Department of Agriculture, to develop and manage all agroforestry systems within the national territory. On July 9^th, 2020, it has been evaluated.

On September 4^th 2020, deputy Peter Drenth has given the go-ahead to the Agroforestry Network Gelderland. It is a new provincial network like already is existing in the province of Brabant (100 farmers connected).

As trees are at the core of agroforestry systems and practices, European institutions must encourage and support any effort to invest in agroforestry strategies so that agroforestry can rise a leader role in providing agricultural solutions but also in improving the environment as well as human health and wellbeing.