The goal of TRANSITION is to pave the way for a transition towards resilient agriculture in the Mediterranean, maximizing the net positive impact on the environment, while increasing resilience of agroecosystems, rural societies and return on assets to farmers. This is done by analysing the most relevant innovative solutions in resilient agroforestry and mixed farming systems using a participatory approach. TRANSITION will i) identify appropriate strategies for adoption to improve resilience of the agriculture sector, including using locally-adapted genetic resources, unconventional water reuse and soil protection strategies ii) establish what are the environmental and socio-economic barriers to resilient agriculture implementation iii) quantify the system productivity and delivery of ecosystem services of existing systems and co-designed and replicable case studies and their effect on farmers’ livelihoods iv) empower the expansion of agroforestry and mixed farming systems through practical innovation and knowledge exchange and v) provide robust information which is useful to administrations in terms of measurable impacts and possible transition scenarios which maximize ecological services delivery and resilience of key Mediterranean cropping systems.
In a TRANSITION to resilient agriculture in the Mediterranean, the main goals must be 1) Optimized productivity 2) Long-term biological, economic, and social sustainability, 3) Multiple ecosystem services, and 4) Minimal environmental degradation. Agricultural productivity in the Mediterranean is highly dependent on water availability and irrigation, and in order to meet future food demand while sustainably managing available land and water resources, irrigated agriculture in semi-arid regions needs to adapt as a response to climate and socio-economic change. To increase their resilience, farming systems must have lower dependence on external inputs by greater adaptation to local conditions with better water economy, climate-ready crops, local varieties, etc., improving overall suitability to the region and pursuing the objective of sustainable intensification (FAO). What are needed are climate-smart strategies which increase adaptation to climatic events while reducing GHG emissions, a critical challenge for agriculture and rural areas, as stressed in the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development.
The project has the following specific objectives: - Improve social and biophysical understandings of resilience in Mediterranean agroforestry and mixed farming systems - Identify socio-economic and policy barriers limiting the replication of resilient farming systems - Assess the potential and help prioritise resilience-building strategies - Promote knowledge exchange and development of sustainable farming systems - Promote alignment between resilience-building priorities of stakeholders and policies of governmental and intergovernmental organisations - Increase climate change resilience and mitigation and the sustainability of farming systems and livelihood protection - Strengthen the viability and replicability of the resilience-building strategies with a multi-actor approach
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