IDDRI report: ten years for agroecology in Europe

The 'Ten Years for Agroecology in Europe' report models a future where farming in Europe can respond to climate change, phase out pesticides and maintain vital biodiversity, whilst providing a sufficient and healthy diet for a growing population. 

Report findings

'Ten Years For Agroecology in Europe' finds that a wholesale transition to agroecology would:

• feed the European population healthily
• maintain the export capacity
• reduce Europe’s global food footprint
• result in a 40 percent reduction in agricultural greenhouse gas emissions
• help to restore biodiversity and to protect natural resources

What next? 

A transition to a fully agroecological Europe will require dietary change, particularly a shift towards 'less and better meat', with diets reorientated around plant-based proteins and higher welfare grass-fed livestock. 

The Government must support the transition through The Agriculture Bill by establishing agroecology as the underlying principle of farming in England, rewarding farmers for employing agroecological systems such as organic.  

Farmers – especially those already pioneering agroecological farming, from conservation agriculture to agroforestry and organic – should be given a seat at the table in the debate around land-use, climate change and biodiversity.

Biodiversity impacts, imported emissions, and the need to reduce or eliminate pesticide and fertiliser use, should be given greater weighting in the next Climate Change Committee land-use report. The UK’s response to climate change must be coherent with broader ecological objectives.

Watch Helen Browning, Soil Association CEO, talk about agroecology

Helen talks about how agroecology could drive improvements to human and environmental health at a European Level.