Agroforestry (AF) is the practice of deliberately integrating woody vegetation (trees or shrubs) with crop and/or animal systems to benefit from the resulting ecological and economic interactions. Research activities developed by AFINET partners indicates that appropriate application of AF principles and practices is a key avenue to help the European Union to achieve more sustainable methods of food and fibre production, producing both profits for farmers and environmental benefits. However up to now exists a lack of AF knowledge among end-users that prevent the correct implementation of these practices. In this sense AFINET will act at EU level in order to take up research results into agricultural practice, improving knowledge exchange between scientists and practitioners on AF activities, with a special focus on silvoarable and silvopastoral systems design, management, and production and profitability. To achieve this objective AFINET consortium proposes an innovative methodology based on: (i) The creation of a EU reservoir of scientific and practical knowledge of AF with an end-user-friendly access (the “Knowledge Cloud”). (ii) The creation of a European Interregional network (composed of “Regional Agroforestry Innovation Networks” - RAINs) considering a multi-actor approach (including farmers, policy makers, advisory services, extension services, etc.), and articulated through the figure of the “Innovation Broker”. These RAINs groups will be interconnected in nine strategic regions of Europe from Spain, UK, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Hungary, Poland, France and Finland, representing different climatic, geographical, social, and cultural conditions at European level. In addition, to create a greater user acceptance of the collected solutions and an intensive dissemination to end-users, AFINET will be linked to other networks, initiatives and policy instruments at regional, national and European level with a specific focus on the EIP-AGRI implementation.

DIVERSify is a consortium of scientists, farmers, advisors, breeders and SMEs to co-construct a new approach and tools to investigate the mechanisms underpinning the benefits associated with cropping plant teams, and the crop traits and agronomic practices promoting these benefits. Focussing on arable and grassland systems, the six objectives are to: 1) identify current best practice for plant teams through participatory engagement with agricultural practitioners and scientific literature; 2) determine the mechanisms promoting positive plant-plant and plant-environment interactions using ecological principles to define experimentally the underpinning processes; 3) devise improved plant teams and identify potential breeding targets with a trait-based approach and novel tool to select crop types and deployment strategies that promote performance; 4) collaborate with stakeholders in European pedo-climatic regions and beyond to validate and demonstrate plant teams and devise practical crop management prescriptions; 5) construct a plant teams decision aid for practitioners by collating trait and agronomy data in a framework that can be interrogated for information on crop selection and management in different regions; and 6) work with stakeholders and RUR-6 for participatory knowledge exchange between different actors, EU policy and wider society through an appropriate and targeted array of communication media and activities. The co-innovation approach will allow tacit and scientific knowledge to be applied to real-world challenges in plant team cropping for developing practical solutions, in the form of teams with improved productivity, pest and disease control and environmental benefits. Knowledge exchange on crop traits, management and the decision aid will have impact on farmers, advisors, breeders, science and policy, improving awareness and overcoming barriers to uptake of plant teams for yield stability, diversification, sustainability and resilience.