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Redesigning the European food system on the basis of circularity principles could bring environmental benefits for Europe and the world. Here we deploy a biophysical optimization model to explore the effects of adopting three circularity scenarios in the European Union (EU)27 + UK. We calculate a potential reduction of 71% in agricultural land use and 29% per capita in agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, while producing enough healthy food within a self-sufficient European food system. Under global food shortages, savings in agricultural land could be used to feed an additional 767 million people outside the EU (+149%), while reducing per capita greenhouse gas emissions by 38% but increasing overall emissions by 55% due to the increased population served. Transitioning the EU’s food system towards circularity implies sequential changes among all its components and has great potential to safeguard human and planetary health.

To leverage agriculture's potential to better benefit both people and nature, policymakers need clear messages about which farming practices positively impact biodiversity and yields, and when trade-offs arise. Existing reviews analyse effects of different agricultural practices on either biodiversity or yield, without considering interactions. Here, we applied multinomial and quantile regression models to synthesize global evidence of synergies and trade-offs between biodiversity and yield, using 764 paired observations (from 43 studies across 18 countries) comparing diversified and simplified farming systems. Results show that farmland diversification led to win-win outcomes for biodiversity and yield in 23% of cases, while a win for biodiversity coupled with a loss in yield was the most likely outcome (28% of cases). Yield and biodiversity responses were negatively correlated, meaning that diversifying farming systems solely in pursuit of production goals is unlikely to lead to markedly better outcomes for biodiversity, or vice-versa. Yet certain situations made win-win significantly more likely, including when crop and animal production, or multiple diversification practices (e.g., intercropping and cover crops), were combined, when no agrochemicals were applied, when diversification occurred in temperate climates, and when diversification enhanced below-ground taxa. Win-win was also more likely than lose-lose when biodiversity was measured as richness or richness-evenness, but not abundance, suggesting that in certain contexts diversified farming can effectively enhance species diversity while increasing agricultural yields. Overall, crop commodity group and bioclimatic location were amongst the most important contextual factors influencing the likelihood of a synergy or trade-off between biodiversity and yield, and diversification that accounts for these is less likely to lead to unexpected outcomes. Our novel method and up-to-date review show that farmland diversification frequently leads to better outcomes for biodiversity and/or agricultural production when compared to monocultures and farmland stripped of natural vegetation, opening a pathway to more sustainable agricultural production.

Transformation to sustainable agriculture in the Netherlands is increasingly called for. Agroecology is acknowledged as a sustainable–potentially transformative–alternative for conventional methods of agriculture. However, few farmers adopt agroecological practices. Recent literature suggests failure to achieve sustained and transformational change may be due to neglectance of personal, nonmaterial aspects of such processes, also referred to as “inner” dimensions of sustainability. Aiming for empirical underpinning, individual transition pathways of nine agroecological farmers were explored, and processes of change were analyzed using a conceptual framework of “zones of friction and traction” across three interconnected and embedded spheres of transformation: the personal, the practical and the political. The chosen framework allows for seeing the role of the personal aspects of transformation, without losing sight of pressures and influences from the “outside.” Identification of zones of friction and traction revealed where and why transformation was happening, as well as the drivers behind farmers’ choice and passion for agroecology. We argue that focus on the “inner” dimension or personal sphere is foundational to sustained transformational change in the practical and political spheres, i.e. the outside world. The presented findings have implications for strategies targeting envisioned transition toward a sustainable food system.

The challenge to reconcile agricultural production with the conservation of biodiversity and associated ecosystems services has triggered interest in the design of pest suppressive landscapes. However, the uniqueness of species-specific responses to management and landscape context hamper our ability to make generalizations for landscape design, and we often lack quantitative indicators to make inferences about the pest suppressive potential of landscape designs. Here I examine the literature to underpin design principles based on source-sink theory. The potential of landscapes to support herbivore populations is associated with the area of source habitat, source strength, and the ability of herbivores to detect host plants. The potential of natural enemies to suppress herbivore populations is associated with their potential for numerical response, time to colonization and natural enemy diversity. Insecticide applications and other intensive management practices can turn treated fields into sinks. The analysis reveals that landscape features or management practices influence multiple processes at the same time, and that well-documented landscape features associated with high pest suppression potential generally discourage herbivores and/or favour natural enemies. The evaluation of landscapes in terms of source habitats for specific herbivores and their natural enemies may reveal context-specific information that allow a better quantitative understanding of pest suppression potential of landscapes.

Insect farming is a rapidly expanding agricultural sector with the potential to improve the environmental sustainability of livestock production. A holistic approach is needed to use farmed insects responsibly and effectively with broad benefits across food systems.

Korla fragrant pear (Pyrus sinkiangensis Yü) depends on cross-pollination by honeybees (Apis mellifera) but may suffer from low honeybee visitation. We assessed whether honeybee abundance and visitation frequency are enhanced by using synthetic Nasonov gland pheromone (NGP), which is naturally produced by worker bees to stimulate the aggregation of bees to food resources or nesting sites. The response of honeybees to synthetic NGP was firstly assessed using Y-tube olfactometer tests in the laboratory, and subsequently in the field, by placing NGP lures on Korla fragrant pear trees in orchards with and without beehives. Honeybee abundance was assessed using coloured pan traps while honeybee visits were assessed by visual observations on pear flowers. Y-tube olfactometer tests showed a significant preference of honeybees for NGP. In pear orchards with beehives, honeybee abundance was 2.5-fold higher on trees with NGP lures than on trees without NGP, and 2.2-fold higher in orchards in which all trees contained NGP lures than in orchards without NGP lures. Such positive effects were not observed in orchards without beehives. Flower visitation by honeybees was significantly higher in trees with NGP lures than without NGP lures, irrespective of the presence (5.7-fold higher) or absence of beehives (27.6-fold higher). In mixed pear-apricot orchards, honeybee abundance was higher in pear trees with NGP lures than without lures. Our results show that NGP lures attract honeybees to flowering pear trees in monoculture pear and mixed pear-apricot orchards, and that this effect is greatest in orchards with beehives.

This paper describes the long-term effects of practicing ten years reduced tillage on crop yields in a conventional and organic farming system context. Data were collected from the BASIS field experiment, which was established in the Netherlands in 2009 to investigate the effects of reduced tillage on crop yield and soil properties in a controlled traffic farming system on a sandy loam soil. The experiment is unique in its focus on root crops grown on ridges, planted crops and small seeded crops, including cash crops such as potato (Solanum tuberosum), carrot (Daucus carota subsp. Sativus), onion (Allium cepa) and sugar beet (Beta vulgaris). The objective of the present paper was to analyse the long-term effects of reduced tillage on the marketable yields of these crops, grown in a conventional (4-year rotation) and organic farming system (6-year rotation). Tillage treatments were conventional deep inversion tillage (CT, mouldboard plough, 23–25 cm depth), reduced tillage with sub-soiling (RTS, chisel plough, 18–20 cm depth), and reduced tillage without sub-soiling (RT). Our key finding is that the two reduced tillage systems, over a 10-year period, provided similar or even higher marketable yields than conventional tillage, for 12 (RTS) and 11 (RT) of the 13 crops grown. Reduced tillage resulted in lower yields in two crops: carrot (−13.4% in RTS and −15.2% in RT) and cabbage (−5.2% in RT). In both cases, yield losses could be partly related to negative effects of crop residues from the preceding cover crop. Our results provide evidence that yield levels of crops grown in RT in our experiment can generally compete with crop yields in ploughed systems. However, crop residue management and seedbed preparation remain a challenge in reduced tillage systems, requiring further attention in research and dissemination.

Dit rapport beschrijft de langetermijneffecten van tien jaar gereduceerde grondbewerking op gewasopbrengsten in een gangbaar en biologisch landbouwsysteem. De gegevens zijn verzameld in de BASIS-veldproef welke in 2009 in Nederland is opgezet, om de effecten van gereduceerde grondbewerking op gewasopbrengst en bodemeigenschappen in een systeem met onbereden bedden/vaste rijpaden op zavelgrond te onderzoeken. Het experiment is uniek door de focus op wortel- en knolgewassen geteeld op ruggen, rooigewassen en klein zadige gewassen, waaronder hoog salderende gewassen als aardappel (Solanum tuberosum), peen (Daucus carota subsp. Sativus), zaaiui (Allium cepa) en suikerbiet (Beta vulgaris). Het doel van deze studie was het analyseren van de langetermijneffecten van gereduceerde grondbewerking op de marktbare opbrengsten van deze gewassen, geteeld in een gangbaar (vierjarige rotatie) en biologisch (zesjarige rotatie) bedrijfssysteem. De grondbewerkingsbehandelingen waren ploegen (PL, ploeg, 23-25 cm diepte), gereduceerde grondbewerking met woelen (NKG+, woelpoot, 18-20 cm diepte) en gereduceerde grondbewerking zonder woelen (NKG-). Onze belangrijkste bevinding is dat de twee systemen met gereduceerde grondbewerking over een periode van 10 jaar voor 12 (NKG+) en 11 (NKG-) van de 13 geteelde gewassen vergelijkbare of zelfs hogere marktbare opbrengsten opleverden dan conventionele grondbewerking. Gereduceerde grondbewerking resulteerde in lagere opbrengsten bij twee gewassen: wortel (-13,4% bij NKG+ en -15,2% bij NKG-) en kool (-5,2% bij NKG-). In beide gevallen konden de opbrengstverliezen gedeeltelijk worden gerelateerd aan de negatieve effecten van gewasresten van de voorafgaande groenbemester. Onze resultaten tonen aan dat het opbrengstniveau van gewassen die in ons experiment in gereduceerde grondbewerking worden geteeld, over het algemeen kan concurreren met de opbrengst van gewassen in geploegde systemen. Het beheer van gewasresten en de voorbereiding van het zaaibed blijven echter een uitdaging bij systemen met gereduceerde grondbewerking en vereisen verdere aandacht in onderzoek en verspreiding van kennis.

Intensified livestock production is considered as a promising pathway for smallholder farmers. Nevertheless, this pathway may entail prohibitive investment requirements of labour, capital or trade-offs at farm level that preclude sustainable intensification. We used fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) to assess farmers' perceptions of changes in the farm household system resulting from adding livestock to their mixed farms. Farmers identified trade-offs between the increased income and farmyard manure production versus increases in labour requirements for fodder imports. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis performed on the FCMs showed that an increase in milk market demand could have strong positive effects on livestock production and income. We conclude that FCM is a good tool to rapidly identify trade-offs and analyse perceptions of farmers which revealed that although they consider intensification a promising strategy, the perceived deepening of labour constraints and increasing dependency on fodder import makes a concurrent (sustainable) intensification of these farm systems unlikely.

Participatory techniques are widely recognized as essential in addressing the challenges of agri-environmental policy and decision-making. Furthermore, it is well known that stakeholder analysis and social network analysis are useful methods in the identification of actors that are involved in a system and the connections between them. To identify key stakeholders and improve the transfer of information from national-to farm-level, we compared a stakeholder analysis with farmer-centric networks for primary productivity, carbon regulation and biodiversity through the case study of Latvia. Farmer-centric networks show a higher number of stakeholders communicating on the topic of primary productivity network comparing to other topics. We found three pathways for improving knowledge transfer in agri-environmental governance: horizontal strengthening of farming community, horizontal strengthening of policy departments, and vertical strengthening between policy departments and farmers. The first step is to ensure that policy-makers have a common understanding of the results that should be achieved. The second step is the transfer of know-how between farmers to develop new solutions. The third step is the training of advisers in the land multifunctionality and the strengthening of communication and knowledge transfer between policy departments and farmers in order to jointly achieve the desired direction at that national level. Long-term cooperation between many stakeholders, including knowledge transfer, the development and implementation of solutions, and monitoring are essential in order to adequately address global societal challenges. The application of our mixed methods approach to elucidate pathways for improved governance of knowledge and information is of direct relevance to other jurisdictions seeking to transition towards multifunctional and sustainable land management.

Worldwide deforestation and degradation are limiting the capacity of tropical dry forests (TDFs) to provide environmental services. Agroforestry systems (AFSs) are agricultural land systems that combining perennial elements with crops, can provide important benefits to people (e.g. timber and non-timber products) and the environment (e.g. hosting biodiversity). Using a semi-quantitative methodology (i.e. weight of evidence), we assessed the role of the three main types of AFSs (intercropping, multistrata and silvopastoral and protective systems) in restoring key ecosystem services in TDFs. We found that each type of AFSs contributed differently to soil quality restoration, productivity, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and culture preservation. Yet, AFSs can also deliver few disservices, such as yield reductions. Despite the identified knowledge gaps, such as the carbon sequestration capacity, our findings indicate that AFSs can contribute to restore TDFs by providing valuable ecosystem services to halt degradation and sustain people’s livelihood.

Voor u ligt de docentenhandleiding bij de reader gewasdivers telen. De landbouw staat voor een aantal grote uitdagingen en om onze landbouw toekomstbestendiger te maken is het van belang onze teeltsystemen weerbaarder te maken. Eén van de aangedragen oplossingen hiervoor is het verhogen van de gewasdiversiteit in onze teelten. Het doel van deze reader is dan ook om MBO studenten te introduceren in gewasdivers telen. De reader is gemaakt met een focus op MBO akkerbouw studenten, niveau 3 en 4, leerjaar 3. Er wordt een basiskennis van teelt verondersteld, want de reader gaat vooral in op de verschillen met de gangbare teelt.

How can we feed the growing world population while respecting our planet? This question is arguably one of the greatest challenges of today. In this chapter we discuss how a redesign of today’s food system towards a circular food system can help to address the challenges of developing a sustainable food system. We show that if circularity designs adhere to a number of criteria, adopting circularity principles in the global agricultural food system is a promising way to allow the use of natural resources at a rate that does not exceed their regenerative capacity. We highlight recent insights on how to align planetary with human health and avenues yet to be explored when moving forward.

CONTEXT: In Ethiopia, many agricultural interventions have been introduced for mixed farm types in different biophysical and socioeconomic conditions. The contribution of such interventions to multi-objectives at farm level and beyond remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To derive insights into interaction of multi-objectives on economic profit-, nutrition security-, and environmental performance that are relevant for improvement of farm household living income in Amhara, Ethiopia. METHODS: FarmDESIGN model evaluated performance of four stylized medium- and small-scale farm types in a low (Lay Gayint)- and high (South Achefer)- potential district: LG-M, LG-S, SA-M and SA-S. Pareto-based multi-objective optimization was performed to maximize farm profit, livestock density, dietary energy and vitamin A yield, and minimize GHG and soil N losses. Further analysis resulted in 3–4 clusters per farm type with varied farm configurations. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Higher dietary energy- and vitamin A- yield that meets household and Ethiopian society requirements increased synergistically with profit in three of the four farm type clusters, while LG-S clusters could only increase vitamin A yield substantially with profit. Only LG-M clusters intensified livestock by addition of 4–8 crossbred cows and 1–10 chickens, supported by imported feed and off-farm grazing but face strong environmental trade-offs of increased GHG and soil N losses. Chicken production (eggs and chicken meat) is an option to reduce environmental impact, increase profit and contribute to both human nutrition requirements. In LG-S, SA-M and SA-S farm type clusters, profit was generated mainly from sale of eucalyptus, maize, potato, carrot, finger millet, garlic, beetroot and banana, with eucalyptus accounting at least 35% of the crop profit. Livestock diversification in these clusters also contributed to farm revenue, but always to a smaller extent, due to relatively high management costs. A living income from farming activities was only achieved on SA-M3 as 3.96 USD/capita/day (+0.36 above the threshold). This cluster had a 2.90 ha land area, farm income almost equally generated from crop and livestock production, and successfully met all set objectives except maximizing livestock density. SIGNIFICANCE: Our study infers the need to increase land area, expand poultry and rear crossbred cows, and cultivate high value crops to realize a living income solely from agricultural activities. For implementation, current land-use policies should support farm area expansion. The suggested agricultural options, which already align with current Ethiopian development plans, must utilize sustainable measures that will not lead to short- or long-term challenges as higher GHG and soil nutrient mining.

The intensification of crop production is widely recognized to negatively affect the agrobiodiversity in smallholder systems. This trend can also be observed in Quinoa production systems, where few varieties are commercialized while maintaining traditional varieties of quinoa remains a key agricultural activity in the high-Andes landscape. In recent decades, the “boom” of quinoa production has given rise to national projects intended to ensure that farmers benefit from their agricultural heritage, including the development of a collective trademark. However, little is known about the opinions of smallholder farmers regarding quinoa varieties cultivation, farming practices, market choices, or the development of a collective trademark as a tool to safeguard a position in the booming international quinoa market. To address these questions, we developed our research in three villages in the Puno region of Peru, quinoa’s center of origin. We applied a novel combination of participatory methods: the Q methodology to interpret the perceptions of smallholder quinoa farmers concerning the activities that are important on their farms, and the Four-Square Analysis workshops to explore quinoa biodiversity management. The results of our Q-analysis revealed three types of opinions emerging among farmers: (Type 1) Conservationist, (Type 2) Intensification sustainer, and (Type 3) Collaboration seeker. Type 1 assigns importance to maintaining and promoting quinoa biodiversity through collective practices and markets. Type 2 focuses on developing export-oriented production based on certified and improved varieties, combined with efficient ways of storing quinoa. Type 3 appears to value the collective aspects of organizations and cooperation among stakeholders. According to the results of the Four-Square Analysis, most landraces of quinoa are threatened by genetic erosion, as they are cultivated in situ in small plots and on few farms. Our results are an important baseline for further project development for biodiversity conservation in situ and market inclusion engaging local communities.

How can we feed the growing world population while respecting our planet? This question is arguably one of the greatest challenges of today. In this chapter we discuss how a redesign of today’s food system towards a circular food system can help to address the challenges of developing a sustainable food system. We show that if circularity designs adhere to a number of criteria, adopting circularity principles in the global agricultural food system is a promising way to allow the use of natural resources at a rate that does not exceed their regenerative capacity. We highlight recent insights on how to align planetary with human health and avenues yet to be explored when moving forward.

Vegetable production in open greenhouses is often associated with high inputs of synthetic pesticides. Introducing flowering plants into such greenhouses may promote the top-down pest suppression by natural enemies and reduce the reliance on pesticide use. However, it is not known how effective this practice is in organically and conventionally managed greenhouse crops. We assessed the influence of introducing flowering plants into open greenhouses with organically and conventionally managed tomato crops on the abundance of pests, natural enemies (NE), pollinators, and crop yield. We monitored tomato crops during two years in two greenhouses at four organic farms and four conventional farms that used integrated pest management (IPM). On each farm one greenhouse contained flower islands of basil (Ocimum bacilicum), marigold (Tagetes patula) and alyssum (Lobularia maritima), and the other greenhouse served as a control. Organic farms had yields comparable to conventional farms, a lower abundance of pests, less pest injury, and a higher abundance of NE. The cumulative pest:NE ratio was 9 for organic and 38 for conventional management. The effect of introducing flowering plants on arthropods depended significantly on the type of farm management. Conventionally managed tomato crops in greenhouses with seven flower islands per 100 m2 had 18% lower pest abundance compared to the control greenhouses without flowers, while flower islands did not significantly influence arthropod abundances in organically managed tomato crops. Tomato plants had a higher abundance of pests than the three introduced plant species in conventionally managed greenhouses, while marigold had a higher abundance of pests than tomato in organically managed greenhouses. Alyssum supported a relatively low pest abundance and high abundance of NE and pollinators. Our findings indicate that NE in IPM-conventionally managed greenhouses can benefit from resources provided by flowering plants, resulting in reduced pest abundance, while in organically managed greenhouses the conditions are already favourable for the suppression of pests and addition of floral resources does not further improve the effectiveness of NE. This finding highlights the potential of agroecological and organic management to reduce the reliance on synthetic pesticides without yield reduction.

Without a protein transition, global sustainability targets will be impossible to reach. This book examines the transition to sustainable protein systems in the broadest possible context. Perspectives from social scientists are presented alongside perspectives from technologists. Academic contributors from across the globe explain the science behind the transition, while industry interviews highlight in-practice examples. Some viewpoints are shared, some divergent, some polarizing. A picture emerges of a complex transition-in-progress, with many different individual motivations coalescing toward a shared goal. The wide range of proposed solutions need not be considered competitive. The future will include a range of options serving different geographies, needs, and preferences. It is only through pursuit of multiple pathways that the route to transition will be found.

Context: Pastoral and agro-pastoral (PAP) systems in East Africa face a range of challenges including increased climate variability. Various measures have been proposed to improve the resilience of pastoral/agro-pastoral (PAP) systems to drought. However, identifying the most effective measure for a given system and location is complicated, and tools are required to appraise measures on a consistent basis.Objective: This paper develops a model of a PAP system and uses it to assess the effects of four measures (Index-based livestock insurance, IBLI; Commercial destocking with an early warning system, EWS; Rangeland restoration, RR; Fodder planting, FP) on the resilience of the PAP system. It also quantifies the greenhouse gas (GHG) effects of the measures, thereby identifying potential trade-offs and synergies between the policy objectives of resilience and climate smart agriculture (CSA).Methods: A dynamic model of the Borena pastoral cattle system was developed to undertake the analysis. At its core is a herd model that calculates the changes in cattle population over time. Feed availability and drought occurrence affect fertility and mortality rates, which in turn determine the population and (meat and milk) production. A suite of indicators covering the three dimensions of CSA (increasing productivity, enhancing resilience and reducing GHG emissions) were developed, and used to compare the situation with and without measures.Results and discussions: Destocking with an early warning system provides the biggest increases (relative to the no measure situation) in production and profit, due to the way it changes the herd size and structure. It maintains a larger herd than any of the other measures, and a greater proportion of the herd are adult females. Fodder planting and rangeland restoration provide moderate increases in production and profit. Index-based livestock insurance provides a moderate increase in protein production, but has no effect on profit, as it is designed to reduce risk rather than increase productivity or profit, at least in the short term.All of the measures increase the total emissions relative to the no measure scenario. In terms of the three dimensions of climate-smart agriculture, IBLI leads to some improvements in productivity and resilience but leads to large increases in total emissions, and modest increases in emissions intensity (EI). EWS leads to large increases in productivity and resilience. However, it also leads to large increases in total emissions and a mixed effect on EI. FP and RR improve productivity and increase total emissions, while having little effect on EI or resilience.Significance: This paper illustrates the way in which systems dynamic model can be used to appraise measures designed to improve resilience. The result identify potential synergies and tensions between the goals of resilience and climate smart agriculture, and raises the question of whether fully climate-smart goals are viable in these systems.

In deze reader ga je aan de hand van theorie, video’s, opdrachten en voorbeelden uit de praktijk leren over gewasdivers telen.

Dit rapport beschrijft de langetermijneffecten van tien jaar gereduceerde grondbewerking op gewasopbrengsten in een gangbaar en biologisch landbouwsysteem. De gegevens zijn verzameld in de BASIS-veldproef welke in 2009 in Nederland is opgezet, om de effecten van gereduceerde grondbewerking op gewasopbrengst en bodemeigenschappen in een systeem met onbereden bedden/vaste rijpaden op zavelgrond te onderzoeken. Het experiment is uniek door de focus op wortel- en knolgewassen geteeld op ruggen, rooigewassen en klein zadige gewassen, waaronder hoog salderende gewassen als aardappel (Solanum tuberosum), peen (Daucus carota subsp. Sativus), zaaiui (Allium cepa) en suikerbiet (Beta vulgaris). Het doel van deze studie was het analyseren van de langetermijneffecten van gereduceerde grondbewerking op de marktbare opbrengsten van deze gewassen, geteeld in een gangbaar (vierjarige rotatie) en biologisch (zesjarige rotatie) bedrijfssysteem. De grondbewerkingsbehandelingen waren ploegen (PL, ploeg, 23-25 cm diepte), gereduceerde grondbewerking met woelen (NKG+, woelpoot, 18-20 cm diepte) en gereduceerde grondbewerking zonder woelen (NKG-). Onze belangrijkste bevinding is dat de twee systemen met gereduceerde grondbewerking over een periode van 10 jaar voor 12 (NKG+) en 11 (NKG-) van de 13 geteelde gewassen vergelijkbare of zelfs hogere marktbare opbrengsten opleverden dan conventionele grondbewerking. Gereduceerde grondbewerking resulteerde in lagere opbrengsten bij twee gewassen: wortel (-13,4% bij NKG+ en -15,2% bij NKG-) en kool (-5,2% bij NKG-). In beide gevallen konden de opbrengstverliezen gedeeltelijk worden gerelateerd aan de negatieve effecten van gewasresten van de voorafgaande groenbemester. Onze resultaten tonen aan dat het opbrengstniveau van gewassen die in ons experiment in gereduceerde grondbewerking worden geteeld, over het algemeen kan concurreren met de opbrengst van gewassen in geploegde systemen. Het beheer van gewasresten en de voorbereiding van het zaaibed blijven echter een uitdaging bij systemen met gereduceerde grondbewerking en vereisen verdere aandacht in onderzoek en verspreiding van kennis.

Summary Farmers around the world are increasingly vulnerable: climate variability is identified as the primary stressor, but unfavorable biophysical circumstances and disturbances in the socioeconomic domain (labor dynamics and price volatility) also affect farm management and production. To deal with these disturbances, adaptations are recognized as essential. Antifragility acknowledges that adaptations and volatility are inherent characteristics of complex systems and abandons the idea of returning to the pre-disturbance system state. Instead, antifragility recognizes that disturbances can trigger reorganization, enabling selection and removal of weaker system features and allowing the system to evolve toward a better state. In this study, we assessed the vulnerability of different types of smallholder farms in Bihar, India, and explored the scope for more antifragile farming systems that can ‘bounce back better’ after disturbances. Accumulation of stocks, creation of optionality (i.e., having multiple options for innovation) and strengthening of farmer autonomy were identified as criteria for antifragility. We had focus group discussions with in total 92 farmers and found that most expressed themselves to be vulnerable: they experienced challenges but had limited adaptive capacity to change their situation. They mostly made short-term decisions to cope with or mitigate urgent challenges but did not engage in strategic planning driven by longer-term objectives. Instead, they waited for governmental support to improve their livelihoods. Despite being confronted with similar challenges, four positive deviant farmers showed to be more antifragile: their diverse farming systems were abundant in stocks and optionality, and the farmers were distinguished in terms of their autonomy, competence, and connectedness to peers, the community, and markets. To support antifragility among regular farmers, adaptations at policy level may be required, for example, by shifting from a top-down toward a bottom-up adaptation and innovation regime where initiative and cooperation are encouraged. With a more autonomous orientation, farmers’ intrinsic motivation is expected to increase, enabling transitions at the farm level. In this way, connected systems can be developed which are socioeconomically and biophysically adaptive. When practices, knowledge, and skills are continuously developed, an antifragile system with ample stocks and optionality may evolve over time.

In deze reader ga je aan de hand van theorie, video’s, opdrachten en voorbeelden uit de praktijk leren over gewasdivers telen.

Voor u ligt de docentenhandleiding bij de reader gewasdivers telen. De landbouw staat voor een aantal grote uitdagingen en om onze landbouw toekomstbestendiger te maken is het van belang onze teeltsystemen weerbaarder te maken. Eén van de aangedragen oplossingen hiervoor is het verhogen van de gewasdiversiteit in onze teelten. Het doel van deze reader is dan ook om MBO studenten te introduceren in gewasdivers telen. De reader is gemaakt met een focus op MBO akkerbouw studenten, niveau 3 en 4, leerjaar 3. Er wordt een basiskennis van teelt verondersteld, want de reader gaat vooral in op de verschillen met de gangbare teelt.

There is increasing demand for farmers to reduce their use of anthropogenic inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides. It is often suggested that nature offers alternative ways to suppress pests, but what might these be? One prominent difference between most natural and agricultural systems is the diversity of plants and associated biota such as arthropod herbivores, predators and parasites, both above- and below-ground. It is often claimed that a move away from monocultures and towards greater field, farm and landscape diversity could be an important and obvious first step towards more natural pest control. This paper draws together strands of evidence on what a move to more diverse crop systems can and cannot bring to pest control. We conclude that diversification has great potential, but is not a silver bullet. Adopting a wider definition of IPM and including the environmental stewardship role of agriculture would enable a greater use of natural mechanisms for pest control, including a greater role for diversity, but would also require an economic mechanism to reward stewardship that serves wider societal needs while discouraging management that does not.

Insecticide use and landscape context are major drivers for the abundance of beneficial arthropods, such as predators, parasitoids and pollinators. However, the relative importance of local and landscape-wide insecticide use is not well understood, and it is unclear to what extent impacts of insecticides on beneficial arthropod populations are moderated by landscape composition. We collected and analysed data on beneficial arthropod abundance and local and landscape-wide insecticide use across 38 Dutch landscapes. We used regression to study the associations between beneficial arthropod abundance (response), insecticide use and landscape factors. Insects were sampled by sweep netting and yellow sticky traps in field margins (‘sampling sites’) in the summer of 2017 and 2018. We paired organic and conventional sites in the same landscape setting. We used three indicators of insecticide use: management (organic vs. conventional), Treatment Frequency Index of insecticides applied in the field adjacent to the sampling site, and the estimated landscape-wide average quantity of insecticides applied per ha within a 1 km radius around the sampling site. Abundances of beneficial arthropods in field margins, assessed by sweep netting, were negatively associated with the estimated quantity insecticide applied in the surrounding landscape, while arthropod sampling by sticky traps did not show this relationship. Pollinator abundance was negatively associated with conventional management and with the frequency of insecticide applications in the adjacent field, while predator and parasitoid abundance did not show significant associations with local insecticide use indicators. Negative impacts of insecticide use were not moderated in more diverse landscapes with higher proportions of semi-natural habitats. Policy implications. Insecticide impacts on arthropod populations extend beyond the fields in which they are used. Awareness of the potential landscape-wide effects of pesticides, either through drift of pesticides or insect movement, may encourage land managers to adopt practices to reduce insecticide drift and the frequency of insecticide applications, thereby reducing the impacts of landscape-wide exposure on arthropods that provide services to agriculture. Risk assessments of insecticides and pesticide use regulations need to account for potential spill-over effects and consider landscape-scale consequences associated with the source–sink dynamics of arthropods.

Current global challenges for family farmers, such as the deterioration of arable land and low family income, cannot be addressed only by working on single farm components. Improving the sustainability of family farms requires a multi-objective systems approach and may be seen as an evolutionary process composed of iterative learning cycles. We developed a co-innovation project from 2014 to 2017 that involved characterisation, diagnosis, redesign, and implementation and evaluation of the redesigns on farms. Low family income, low labour productivity and the deterioration of soil quality were the main problems impacting farm sustainability. We identified crop management factors and soil fertility deficiencies as the main causes of low yields. After three cycles of diagnosis, redesign, implementation and monitoring, the average family income increased by 32%, labour productivity increased by 22%, and all the farms implemented soil erosion control measurements. Greater implementation of the farm redesign plans resulted in greater improvements in family income, labour productivity, and crop yields. We identified four types of activities that supported learning throughout the co-innovation process: regular farm visits; meetings to discuss diagnosis, planning and evaluation; field days, and reflection workshops. The strategic use of system analysis tools to promote learning eased communication among different actors, allowing shared learning.

Growing sustainability demands on land have a high knowledge requirement across multiple scientific domains. Exploring networks can expose opportunities for targeting. Using mixed-methods combining social network analysis (SNA) and surveys, networks for key soil functions in case studies in Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands are explored. We find a diversity of contrasting networks that reflect local conditions, sustainability challenges and governance structure. Farmers were found to occupy a central role in the agri-environmental governance network. A comparison of the SNA and survey results indicate low acceptance of messages from many central actors indicating scope to better harness the network for sustainable land management. The source of the messages was important when it came to the implementation of farm management actions. Two pathways for enhanced farmer uptake of multi-functionality are proposed that have wider application are; to increase trust between farmers and actors that are agents of multi-functional messages and/or to increase the bundling or multi-functionality of messages (mandate) of actors trusted by farmers.

While alternative food networks (AFNs) have become the leading conceptualisation of sustainable food systems, vibrant scholarship on food self-provisioning (FSP) in Central and Eastern Europe has remained confined to the geopolitical region it investigates. This article brings these two bodies of thought closer together in two steps. First, we trace four framings of FSP deployed over the last three decades—coping strategy, cultural practice, hobby and source of good food and reading FSP as transformative practice—to demonstrate its progressive affinity with AFNs. Second, we follow the most recent framing in highlighting the material reality of local food production as a feature shared by both FSP and AFNs. From this perspective, FSP can be understood as a more radical variant of AFNs given its more substantial environmental and social impact (FSP is more widespread and socially inclusive and less dependent on market transactions). By uncovering the epistemological underpinnings of these different framings of FSP and exploring their implications for food practices on the ground, this article draws general lessons for scholarship aiming to advance food system transformation.

Background: National food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) are generally designed from a human health perspective and often disregard sustainability aspects. Circular food production systems are a promising solution to achieve sustainable healthy diets. In such systems, closing nutrient cycles where possible and minimising external inputs contribute to reducing environmental impacts. This change could be made by limiting livestock feed to available low-opportunity-cost biomass (LOCB). We examined the compatibility of national dietary guidelines for animal products with livestock production on the basis of the feed supplied by available LOCB. Methods: We investigated whether the national dietary recommendations for animal products for Bulgaria, Malta, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland could be met with domestically available LOCB. We used an optimisation model that allocates feed resources to different species of farm animals. Of the resulting scenarios, we assessed the nutritional feasibility, climate impact, and land use. Findings: Our results showed the environmental benefits of reducing the recommended animal products in the FBDGs, and that animal products from LOCB could provide between 22% (Netherlands) and 47% (Switzerland) of total protein contributions of the FBDGs. This range covers a substantial part of the nutritional needs of the studied populations. To fully meet these needs, consumption of plant-based food could be increased. Interpretation: Our results contribute to the discussion of what quantities of animal products in dietary guidelines are compatible with circular food systems. Thus, national dietary recommendations for animal products should be revised and recommended quantities lowered. This finding is consistent with recent efforts to include sustainability criteria in dietary guidelines. Funding: Swiss National Science Foundation and the Dutch Research Council.

Since the Green Revolution cropping systems have been progressively homogenized and intensified with increasing rates of inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides and water. This has resulted in higher crop productivity but also a high environmental burden due to increased pollution and water depletion. To identify opportunities for increasing the productivity and reducing the environmental impact of cropping systems, it is crucial to assess the associated trade-offs. The paper presents a model-based analysis of how 30 different crop rotations practiced in the North China Plain could be combined at the regional level to overcome trade-offs between indicators of economic, food security, and environmental performance. The model uses evolutionary multi-objective optimization to maximize revenues, livestock products, dietary and vitamin C yield, and to minimize the decline of the groundwater table. The modeling revealed substantial trade-offs between objectives of maximizing productivity and profitability versus minimizing ground water decline, and between production of livestock products and vitamin C yield. Six strategies each defining a specific combination of cropping systems and contributing to different extents to the various objectives were identified. Implementation of these six strategies could be used to find opportunities to mitigate the tradeoffs between objectives. It was concluded that a holistic analysis of the potential of a diversity cropping systems at a regional level is needed to find integrative solutions for challenges due to conflicting objectives for food production, economic viability and environmental protection

Background: To improve the sustainability performance of food systems, both consumption- and production-side changes are needed. Objectives: To this end, we assessed multiple sustainability impacts of 6 consumer strategies together with production-side aspects such as organic and circularity principles for Switzerland. Methods: Two strategies encompassed dietary changes: following a pescetarian diet and adhering to the national dietary guidelines. Two strategies employed alternative farming systems: increasing the share of organic production and, in addition, applying the circularity principle of avoiding feed-food competition by limiting livestock feed to low-opportunity-cost biomass. A fifth strategy reduced food waste. The sixth strategy increased the share of domestic produce. For all strategies, we assessed greenhouse gas emissions, land use, nitrogen surplus, social risks, diet quality, and diet costs. Results: The strategies revealed trade-offs between impact categories, unless combined in a synergistic way. Whereas dietary changes towards more plant-based diets reduced environmental impacts (≤51%) and increased diet quality (≤57%), they increased social risks due to increased sourcing from contexts with potentially bad labor conditions (≤19%). Further, when the share of organic produce was increased, land use and dietary costs were increased (≤33% and ≤42%, respectively). The effect on land use could, however, be reversed when circularity principles were introduced in addition to the organic production standard, resulting in reductions for all environmental indicators (≤75%). Reducing food waste and increasing the share of domestic produce led to better sustainability performance as well, but at lower orders of magnitude. Conclusions: Combining all proposed strategies could lead to substantial favorable changes on all impact categories assessed, but would require a thorough transformation of the current food system. However, the sum of individual consumers each following only 1 of the strategies proposed would make an important contribution towards improving the sustainability performance of the Swiss food system., The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 115 (4), ISSN:0002-9165, ISSN:1938-3207

Gewasbeschermingsmiddelen worden in de landbouw veel gebruikt om oogstverliezen te voorkomen. Maar tot hoe ver in de wijdere omgeving heeft het gebruik van deze middelen invloed op insectenpopulaties? Daarover is nog weinig bekend, terwijl deze informatie essentieel is voor het inschatten van milieurisico’s en de formulering van beleid.

Parasitoids need to find their hosts in patchy environments that differ in profitability. To maximize foraging efficiency, parasitoids use volatile information of plants on which their hosts feed. The blend of plant volatiles emitted is affected by genetic variation in plants and by the herbivore species feeding on the plant. How parasitoids deal with variation in plant volatiles induced by host or nonhost herbivores on various plant genotypes in a plant stand is unclear. In a wind tunnel, we examined foraging behaviour of the parasitoid Cotesia glomerata in mixes of white cabbage cultivars with host (Pieris brassicae) and nonhost herbivores (Mamestra brassicae or Delia radicum). We specifically studied the efficiency of parasitoids in locating a host-infested plant when having to pass three other plants that varied in volatile emission by cultivar and herbivore identity. We show that foraging decisions of C. glomerata are affected by the apparency of volatile cues from upwind host-infested plants. We found that parasitoids flew over the first three plants more often when the last plant was a host-infested attractive cultivar and the first three plants were a less attractive cultivar, regardless of the presence of host or nonhost herbivores. Furthermore, parasitoids spent more time on the first three plants if these were infested with host or nonhost larvae, and this effect was stronger when the first three plants were of the attractive cultivar. Our results suggest that parasitoids may more easily locate host herbivores on plant genotypes with more apparent volatile information. However, host location efficiency is affected by the contrast with other plumes of plant volatiles derived from genotypic variation in plants and induction of volatiles by nonhost herbivores. Apparency of information on upwind patches influences patch residence time and patch choice and is an important component of optimal foraging in parasitoids.