Pre-announcement of the 2021 Joint Call on “Circularity in mixed crop and livestock farming systems, with emphasis on greenhouse gas mitigation”
This call is about research on (re-) integration of crop and livestock farming systems with the aim to enhance circularity between these systems and thereby improve the sustainability of farms.
Potential research areas
Please note that the list below is intended to provide inspiration to potential applicants. It is not an exhaustive list, the listing order does not reflect priorities and it does not exclude focus areas that are not on the list.
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Effect of enhanced circularity and mixed crop-livestock farming on GHG emissions and adaptation to climate change.
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Trade-offs within mixed crop-livestock farming systems, including strategies to maximise net human edible protein production with special attention to food/feed competition within circular food systems.
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Recouple nitrogen, phosphorous and carbon cycle through, e. g., legumes, multi-species grasslands, manure, digestates from anaerobic digestion and other by-products; consequences for crop yield, pests and diseases, soil biology, structure and fertility, reduced use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides.
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Effect of diversification at different levels (plant/animal and production system) on ecologic and economic resilience; identification of nature based solutions; production efficiency, short-term versus long-term financial profitability; ecosystem services and external costs.
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Self-sufficiency in animal nutrition, including protein feed and nutrient efficiency (notably N); animal health & welfare, genetics and product quality and nature inclusivity.
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Identification of crops and animals suitable for a circular approach / mixed crop-livestock farming.
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The effect and performance of mixed crop-livestock systems at different scales, from field to farm and landscape to region.
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Application and development of system evaluation, including participatory research; modelling, in-depth analysis of real life case studies, multicriteria analysis, long-term effects and life cycle assessment (LCA).
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Identification and development of business models that can be coupled with mixed crop-livestock production. Organisation of local cooperation and stakeholders in new value chains including biorefinery development. Consumer-oriented approach to generate added value of new products and services.
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New digital technologies related to, for example, sensors, robotics, big data or modelling to facilitate existing systems or help develop new mixed crop-livestock systems; data management; decision support systems.
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Investigations of conditions that allow mixed crop-livestock systems to succeed, including, for instance, soil-climatic aspects, production or trading systems and conditions, human and social capital, infrastructures, institutional environment. Understanding the bottlenecks in the development of circular approaches to mixed crop-livestock systems.
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Management strategies and practices for different conditions; using land, based on its quality and potential, for instance, with increasing precision and with application of sophisticated farming plans, customised fertilisation and prevention of pests, diseases and weeds, outdoor systems, mixed animal production systems integrating different animal types.
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Identification of incentives to promote appropriate management systems and study of the way of implementing them.
Read more: https://ictagrifood.eu/node/44596
