Project description
Sowing the seeds for intercropping systems
Growing two or more crops in proximity is a way to produce a greater yield on a given piece of land. This intercropping practice is also more sustainable compared to traditional cropping systems. For instance, intercropping boosts biodiversity, makes maximum use of land and optimises biogeochemical cycles in agroecosystems. However, it is still not widely accepted by European farmers. The EU-funded LEGUMINOSE project will identify the obstacles to intercropping and boost awareness and acceptance among farmers by providing knowledge and demonstrations that promote economic, environmental, and social benefits of legume-cereal intercropping. To overcome barriers to intercropping implementation, the project will establish a network of six field trials and farm labs across Europe and in Egypt and Pakistan.
Objective
As conventional cropping systems face deterioration of soil quality, loss of biodiversity, and declining ecosystem services, there is an urgent need to change practices to more sustainable yet productive systems. Intercropping enhances biodiversity, maximizes land productivity, and optimizes biogeochemical cycles in agroecosystems, but is lacking acceptance from European farmers. Legume-based intercropping takes advantage of biological diversity and synergistic effects between companion plants while reducing external inputs. A major objective of LEGUMINOSE is to identify the obstacles to intercropping and enhance farmers’ acceptance by providing knowledge and demonstrations that promote economic, environmental, and social benefits of legume-cereal intercropping. LEGUMINOSE will assess intercropping potential by focusing on pesticide reduction, plant-microbe mediated element cycling, soil health improvement, and crop quality and health. To overcome barriers to intercropping implementation, we will establish a network of six field trials and farm labs (20 farms in each country; 180 on-farm trials) in different pedo-climatic zones across Europe (IT, DE, DR, ES, PL, CZ, UK), Egypt, and Pakistan. Furthermore, we will integrate remote sensing and crop modelling to survey fields, upscale the field-scale results, and create a web-based decision support system on intercropping. In collaboration with various stakeholders, legume-intercropping systems' economical, ecological, and social gains will be assessed and disseminated with international outreach from farm-level to policymakers. We will recognize and involve the whole value chain to explore and test innovative marketing strategies for the products of intercropping. LEGUMINOSE will contribute to the ecological intensification of European agriculture by providing science-based, farmer-led, and economically viable transformations for legume-based intercropping systems.
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HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinator
50121 Florence
Italy
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Participants (18)
Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
50127 Firenze
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28006 Madrid
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20290 Lublin
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30167 Hannover
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1180 Wien
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1040 Wien
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26123 Oldenburg
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59557 Lippstadt
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28003 Madrid
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
24010 LEON
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
45001 Toledo
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
50018 Zaragoza
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2970 Hoersholm
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
787 01 SUMPERK
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8000 Aarhus C
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1040 Bruxelles / Brussel
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50127 Firenze
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38000 Faisalabad
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Partners (2)
RG6 6AH Reading
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BS1 6AD Bristol
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