The project "Ten Years for Agroecology (TYFA)" was launched in 2014. Its objectives are twofold:
- to develop a radical – yet plausible, coherent and scientifically sound – scenario for an agroecological transition in Europe by 2050 and
- to use this scenario as a way to trigger public / policy debates on the future of agriculture and food systems in Europe.
In this perspective, IDDRI collaborate with IPES-Food in the organisation of the European Food and Farming Forum (May 2018), for which TYFA will be used as one of the basis to launch the discussion on agroecological transition. The development of the scenario relies mostly on desk-based research and expert interviews. The scenario is made up of two main components:
- a coherent / consistent picture of the European food system in 2050, which describes (i) the combination of farming system types and land-use consistent with the absence of any synthetic inputs (pesticides and fertilizers ) and the provision of biodiversity based ecosystem services; and (ii) a series of hypothesis regarding diets, food chains organisation and the policy framework that are necessary for the scenario to be coherent.
- a transition pathway which describes the main levers but also the roadblocks to overcome for this picture to become true /possible considering the present situation.
As of today, a model of the European farm has been developed and has allowed
- to draw a first picture of the European farm converted to agroecology by 2050 from an agronomic point of view and
- to formulate key hypothesis on farming systems, N cycle closing, agricultural trade and human diets needed to make this picture consistent.
It shows that under certain conditions on diets, trade and biofuel production, it is technically possible to feed Europeans by 2050 with all farming systems converted to agroecology. Elements of possible transition pathways have also been developed but are at an early stage of elaboration. In this context, and in preparation of the European Forum on Food and Farming, organised by IPESFood on May 2018, this expert workshop aims at debating those preliminary results with key experts in order to:
- identify the main strengths and weaknesses of the scenario ;
- reflect upon its further development.
A workshop organised by IPES Food and IDDRI.
