Thinking about the future of arable farming is not only an exciting thought experiment, but also a useful way to prepare for the future and its challenges. After all, when imagining possible futures, stakeholders are forced to think about overcoming possible challenges and strategies to remain successful under changing circumstances.
Exploring sustainable futures for arable agricultural systems
This report describes transition pathways for smart mixed cropping systems in North-Western Europe. Transition pathways enable us to explore sustainable futures for arable agricultural systems. While current arable farming systems in North-Western Europe produce high yields of good quality, these same systems also cause sustainability issues and are simultaneously increasingly faced with sustainability challenges such as droughts or heavy rainfall. To combat these challenges, we therefore explore resilient and sustainable arable farming systems.
What could smart mixed cropping systems look like?
Smart mixed cropping systems, focused on crop diversification, are an example of such resilient and sustainable systems. By elaborating transition pathways towards 2040, we explore what such smart mixed cropping systems could look like. How do we get from the current system towards a future scenario? And what are implications for stakeholders?
Link to the report
You can read the report in English here -> https://edepot.wur.nl/630284