• Energy Research

There is strong social and political pressure to reduce pesticide use in European agriculture. Evaluating the sustainability of cropping systems is a complex task due to the conflicting objectives underlying its economic, social and environmental dimensions. Multi-criteria assessment of different Integrated Pest Management (IPM) scenarios and evaluation of the most sustainable options at regional, national and European level is essential. Within the EU Network of Excellence ENDURE, two expert-based surveys were conducted (i.e. interviews), where experts from four European regions (northern region, Denmark and The Netherlands; central-eastern, Tolna and Békés counties in Hungary; south-western, Ebro Valley in Spain; southern, Po Valley in Italy) determined which are the main current maize-based cropping systems (MBCSs) in their region and proposed innovative IPM-based systems. The DEXiPM® (DEXi Pest Management) model for arable cropping systems was used to evaluate and compare the economic and environmental sustainability of these systems. The social sustainability was evaluated by adapting indicators of this model to the specificities of maize systems. The assessments showed that all innovative rotated MBCSs proposed in the four regions can have a higher environmental sustainability than and maintain the same economic sustainability as current rotated systems. These cropping systems are thus acceptable for testing under "real" field conditions. Only the innovative continuous maize system proposed in the central-eastern region was both economically and environmentally more sustainable than the current system. All innovative systems had a positive impact on work safety but according to local expert opinion producers and consumers are not ready to implement them or to accept their higherpriced products, with the exception of consumers in the northern region. These results suggest the need for European and regional policies to encourage the adoption of innovative rotated MBCSs that have positive agronomic and environmental impact through IPM implementation. The major constraints that inhibit this adoption were predominantly relating to (1) the lack of access that farmers have to the practical knowledge needed to effectively manage these systems and (2) the insufficient consumer awareness and acceptance of product improvements associated with IPM. To overcome these constraints supportive policy environments, well-functioning knowledge management systems (including good farmer support networks) and effective marketing is required.

Food concerns are reshaping the links between urban and agricultural dynamics. They are emerging as significant issues at the interface between public policies and local initiatives that are in turn establishing new approaches in urban planning and land use. Food occupies a concomitant position as an agricultural product of periurban areas, the principal commodity of a supply system, and a focus of community projects. But does this mean that it acts as an integrating element in an agricultural system? Drawing on data from the research project, ANR-DAUME, which focuses on the sustainability of urban agriculture in Mediterranean cities, we analyse the urban agricultural system of Pisa, Italy, in terms of a geo-agronomical model based on a triad of actors, activities, and spaces. This model highlights the diversity of agricultural food production, the hybridization of sales, distribution networks, and the multifunctionality of organizations involved in various related food projects. These aspects combine in a web of relationships that infuse Pisa’s urban agricultural system with new abilities to transform and adapt to evolving dynamics, showing that food can play the role of a common denominator, integrating actors from these diverse worlds and transforming the dynamics that influence land use and development in the territory.

La durabilite de l’agriculture dans les territoires periurbains mediterraneens est mise en cause par les dynamiques actuelles de reduction et de fragmentation des surfaces agricoles et de concurrence sur les ressources. En nous appuyant sur l’etude de cas de la region urbaine de Pise, nous montrons que les projets portes par une diversite d’acteurs ont un potentiel de reponse different par rapport aux enjeux identifies et a l’ensemble des projets agricoles ou urbains. En effet, les acteurs locaux portent des enjeux d’ordre economique et social. Les acteurs institutionnels sont orientes par les enjeux environnementaux. Par une analyse des initiatives a l’origine des projets, nous mettons en evidence que les acteurs institutionnels jouent cependant un role cle dans la coordination et le developpement de ces projets. L’analyse propose en conclusion une grille de lecture des projets agriurbains et de leurs proprietes integratrices.

Since the 1960s, research has dealt with agricultural intensification (AI) as a solution to ensure global food security. Recently, sustainable intensification (SI) has increasingly been used to describe those agricultural and farming systems that ensure adequate ecosystem service provision. Studies differ in terms of the application scales and methodologies, thus we aim to summarize the main findings from the literature on how AI and SI are assessed, from the farm to global levels. Our literature review is based on 7865 papers selected from the Web of Science database and analysed using CorText software. A further selection of 105 relevant papers was used for an in-depth full-text analysis on: i) farming systems studied; ii) related ecosystem services; iii) indicators of intensity; and iv) temporal and spatial scales of analysis. Through this two-step analysis we were able to highlight three main research gaps in the AI research indicators. Firstly, the farming systems analysed for assessing AI are often quite simplified or monoculture- oriented, and they do not take the diversity and complex organisation of farming systems into account. Secondly, these studies mainly focus on northern countries or developing countries, whereas there is a gap of knowledge in Mediterranean areas, which are the areas with a high complexity of farming systems and diversity in ecosystem services. Finally, AI is mostly assessed through nitrogen inputs and economic yield, which are used the most both at very local and global levels. Intermediate regional or local levels, which are relevant for policy implementation and local planning, are often neglected.