Article on website of the European Agroforestry Federation published
Insights to the OLGA project
At OLGA, we are now focussing intensively on agroforestry as a sustainable and climate-adapted land use method. Our aim is now to inform farmers about this form of agricultural utilisation, to demonstrate its advantages and ultimately to convince them to implement such a system on their own land. We have also recently been featured on the website of the European Agroforestry Federation (EURAF).
Broad alliance presents position paper in favour of more agroforestry in Germany
A broad alliance of German agricultural experts and advisors has presented the position paper "Agroforst JETZT!". Agroforestry systems are a multifunctional form of land use in which woody plants are cultivated in combination with agricultural crops and/or livestock.
The paper emphasises the urgency of establishing agroforestry systems in Germany and demonstrates the huge potential of this form of land use for climate adaptation, the promotion of biodiversity and the (re)revitalisation of agricultural structure (diversity). The brief analysis provides practical advice for governments and administrative bodies on how to strengthen agroforestry and outlines 9 good reasons for scalable and practical agroforestry promotion in Germany.
2024 is to be a year of agroforestry and provide a starting impulse for more agroforestry on our fields in the coming years. Join us and signal your support on the campaign website.
Resilience through regional cooperation? Value creation from agroforestry systems with fast-growing tree species
Practical workshop with municipalities, farmers and energy suppliers
What role can agroforestry play in the future for the regional and decentralized supply of renewable resources? What possibilities are there for further processing and utilization? Where are there already players in Brandenburg and Saxony who are involved in the value chain?
In order to discuss the variety of cooperative relationships between producers and buyers of agricultural timber for the establishment of regional material and value-added cycles, 29 farmers, municipal representatives, entrepreneurs and industry partners interested in agroforestry met with practice-oriented researchers from the AgroWertRegio, Wertvoll and OLGA as well as the German Association for Agroforestry - DeFAF and the Saxon State Office for Agriculture and Geology.
The current strategic plan of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) assumes that the area of agroforestry on German fields will be around 200,000 ha by 2026. In December 2023, this figure is currently around 56 ha. So there is still a lot to do: How can we get more agroforestry on the land in the future? To do this, we need courageous and committed farmers, but also - to stay with the wood value chain - municipalities and energy suppliers who buy the wood from farmers and feed it into their local or district heating networks in the form of wood chips.
After introductory presentations on the advantages of agroforestry in general and the legal framework for the establishment and maintenance of agroforestry systems in Brandenburg and Saxony, farmer Thomas Domin and Tobias Peschel from the planting company Lignovis GmbH reported on their practical experience: there are no
limits to the various cultivation/planting formats and the associated diversification of value creation. They are geared towards the environmental conditions at the location and the economic interests of the farm: whether in strips linked to the farm's own crop rotation, over a large area, as a chicken forest or in coexistence with valuable woods and/or shrub crops - the fast-growing tree species planted for wood use, such as poplar or willow, are very frugal. Once they have been planted, they can bind a lot of CO2 on the potentially available land in Germany and lead it into new cycles. What is needed now is creativity, economic diversification and a little optimism and courage!
Two workshop sessions were held to discuss the framework conditions for establishing a regional value chain for wood from agroforestry and possible opportunities for cooperation in establishing systems, maintenance and wood harvesting. Farmers want security in the form of long-term lease agreements with wood purchase guarantees of up to 15 years. For example, Energy Crops GmbH, a subsidiary of Vattenfall AG, concludes such long-term cooperation agreements with agricultural businesses for Berlin's heat supply.
The farmer leases the land and prepares the soil, while Energy Crops assumes the costs and risk for planting, maintenance, harvesting and transportation. In addition to these offers from the industry, a municipality, a local energy company or a cooperative can also work together with agriculture. Thomas Pöge, Mayor of Thallwitz/Wurzener Land, was connected online and explained how multi-use concepts can form the basis for long-term cooperation between municipalities and farmers.
For the future, it is important to clarify that the establishment and use of agroforestry systems is legally regulated by the CAP and that there is nothing to fear if you dare. Agroforestry systems should be understood and communicated as land use systems with numerous advantages and a relatively long lifespan - even beyond the use of wood for energy or material purposes. In addition to the yield benefits, services to promote biodiversity, soil structure and adaptation to climate change play a major role here. With a view to the value chain of wood from agroforestry with fast-growing tree species, municipalities should seek more dialog with their farmers. There is great potential here in terms of a more independent municipal and CO2-neutral heat supply with wood from the field.
The OLGA project investigates and develops sustainable land use approaches, taking into account regional value creation aspects in the Dresden region and overall Saxony. The focus is on the optimal use of wood from agroforestry systems along watercourses. In coexistence with the natural tree population, agriculturally used wood strips offer the watercourse valuable ecosystem services, such as climate mitigation, erosion protection, and promotion of biodiversity. Additional value-added potentials for regional products, such as wood chips for heat generation or legumes for human nutrition, are analysed and used in strong cooperation with regional partners.
Citizens in the region actively participate in the project through focus groups, real labs and other methods of Citizen Science and explore the added value that sustainable land use and regional food can have for their own environment and quality of life. The partners in OLGA promote city-regional partnerships and value chains, especially in the field of wood use from agroforestry and legumes for human nutrition, and develops public welfare-oriented and regional financing models for already established companies and products.
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