Biodiversity-friendly agriculture

What is agrobiodiversity?

Agrobiodiversity refers to the variety and variability of plants, animals, microorganisms, and their ecosystems that are used directly or indirectly for agriculture and food production.  

Here's why it’s crucial:  

• Resilience to climate change: diverse agricultural ecosystems (such as mixed cropping systems, agroforestry, intercropping, etc.) are more resilient to pests, diseases, and extreme weather. They provide a buffer against the impacts of climate change, ensuring food security and sustainable production.  
• Sustainable agriculture: maintaining diverse crop varieties and livestock breeds through practices like crop rotation, seed saving, and conservation of local breeds promotes sustainable farming. It reduces reliance on chemicals, conserves water and soil, and supports healthy agroecosystems.  
• Socio-economic opportunities: agrobiodiversity creates opportunities for diversified income streams, for instance through niche crops, heritage breeds, or local seed markets. This is particularly valuable for smallholder farmers and rural communities, encouraging innovation in agricultural techniques, food processing, and marketing of diverse agricultural products.  
• Cultural heritage: cultivating traditional crops, maintaining local livestock breeds, and applying indigenous farming knowledge help preserve cultural heritage. These practices connect communities to their cultural roots while supporting sustainable livelihoods.  
• Food and nutritional security: agrobiodiversity enriches diets by offering a broader range of food. It includes traditional and indigenous crops that are often highly nutritious.

In essence, investing in research and innovation to maintain and enhance agrobiodiversity not only addresses current societal challenges, but also lays the groundwork for a sustainable and resilient food system that meets future global demands and contributes to policy objectives. 

Research in action

Pollinator-friendly farming

Pollinators are declining across Europe, posing risks to biodiversity and agriculture. EU-funded projects tackle this challenge from multiple angles:  

• RestPoll restores habitats and tests restoration measures in real landscapes through Living Labs, engaging farmers, policymakers, and researchers in co-designing solutions.  
• Safeguard develops tools and integrated frameworks to identify emerging threats and guide mitigation strategies at field, landscape, and policy levels.  
• BETTER-B strengthens honeybee resilience by studying natural colonies and adapting lessons to modern beekeeping.  
• ProPollSoil investigates how soil management, contamination, and land use affect lesser-known soil-dependant pollinators.
• AGRI4POL will identify crop varieties that attract and support pollinators and will also explore how agricultural practices and landscape features can optimise pollinator services.

By combining research, innovation, and stakeholder engagement, these initiatives aim to support pollinator populations and foster resilient ecosystems.

Monitoring and enhancing agrobiodiversity

Monitoring and enhancing agrobiodiversity are increasingly vital to sustainable agriculture, as vibrant ecosystems support resilient farms and food security. A number of EU-funded projects tackle this challenge through diverse approaches:

• BioMonitor4CAP is developing advanced monitoring systems that combine traditional indicators (like the Farmland Bird Index) with new digital and remote-sensing tools (including eDNA) to track species and habitats across European agricultural landscapes.  
• SOB4ES integrates soil biodiversity into land management by evaluating indicators, assessing ecosystem service contributions.
• BIOservicES explores how soil organisms respond to land use, management, and climate pressures, developing digital tools and models to support sustainable land management.  
• SHOWCASE tested incentives and tools to encourage farmers to adopt biodiversity-friendly practices. Complementing these efforts
• FRAMEwork supports farmer-led clusters and new multi-actor collaborations across cropping systems and strengthening knowledge exchange.  

Together, these initiatives combine research, innovation, and practical engagement to monitor, value, and enhance biodiversity across European landscapes. 

Soil biodiversity for resilient farming

Soil degradation and climate change increasingly threaten biodiversity and ecosystem services, underscoring the need for more sustainable management of soils. EU-funded projects, including from the Mission Soil, are actively working on this challenge from complementary perspectives.  

• MultiSoil aims to co-create farmer-led approaches and guidelines to maintain soil health and functional biodiversity.
• SOILRES will implement integrated agroecological strategies across diverse regions to strengthen soil health, crop resilience, and biodiversity.  
• SOILGUARD developed predictive tools linking soil biodiversity, multifunctionality, and wellbeing to guide policy and support sustainable management decisions.  
• SoildiverAgro tested innovative practices, through extensive case studies and developed digital tools and guidelines for farmers and policymakers. These efforts lay the foundation for more sustainable farming by enhancing soil biodiversity.
• The EXCALIBUR project developed microbial bioproducts and promoted soil management practices that harness soil biodiversity to reduce chemical inputs while maintaining crop productivity.

Together, these initiatives combine research, innovation, and practical engagement to support more resilient soils and sustainable agriculture in Europe. 

Advancing bee health and beekeeping

Honeybee colonies are vital for agriculture and the environment, supporting plant reproduction through pollination and aiding rural development. Numerous projects across Europe are enhancing bee health and beekeeping practices, each contributing unique insights and innovations:

• The POSHBEE project provided a pan-European quantification of the exposure to chemicals and how chemicals alone, in mixtures and in combination with pathogens and nutrition, affect bee health.
• B-GOOD generated a mainly automated data stream of components related to bee health. Both projects provided technical innovations.
• BeeGuards and BETTER-B are addressing various factors impacting the resilience of beekeeping.
• The thematic network B-THENET is addressing best beekeeping practices and innovation tailored to specific geographical and a beekeeping context.

Coordination and alignment of EU and national R&I priorities

The EU is also supporting the alignment and coordination of transnational research and innovation priorities. In the realm of agrobiodiversity, two key European co-funded partnerships play a pivotal role:

• Agroecology Partnership
• European Biodiversity Partnership Biodiversa+ 

Funding opportunities

Actions under other programmes

• EU CAP Network workshop Promoting pollinator-friendly farming
• LIFE Programme
• IPBES - Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
• EuropaBON – Europa Biodiversity Observation Network: integrating data streams to support policy