Publication of June 24th 2024 CommunicationProduction systemsHow to design “intercrops friendly” policies? Lessons from the analysis of the barriers to intercropping in EuropeThis "policy brief", written in the context of the IntercropVALUES european project, presents five policy recommendations to foster the use of intercropping in Europe.Vegetable sectorCereals sectorProtein cropsDiversityEuropeIntercroppingLock-insTransition enablers
Publication of May 15th 2024 Research articleProduction systemsA method to account for diversity of practices in Conservation AgricultureLocal factors influence the translation of Conservation Agriculture (CA) into practices. To categorize the diversity of farmers’ CA practices, we combined archetypal and hierarchical clustering analysis. In Wallonia, we were able to identify three main CA-types with salient practices.Conservation agricultureDiversityBelgiumWalloniaParticipatory process
Past event Conference January 10th 2023 OxfordProduction systemsLEAP Conference (Oxford) : Sytra’s presentations on the bovine sectorOn 25 January 2023, Sytra will give two presentations at the LEAP conference : (1) Economic implications of a protein transition: evidence from Walloon beef and dairy farms; (2) Accounting for diversity while assessing sustainability: insisghts from the Walloon bovine sectors.Dairy sectorBeef meat sectorProtein transitionDiversitySustainability indicatorsEconomic viability
Past event Conference February 18th 2022 Online (Zoom)Production systemsDiverIMPACTS webinar: Small-scale sorting of pulses and grainsIn this webinar, an example of machinery and operations for sorting multiple crops on the farm was presented.Organic agricultureCereals sectorProtein cropsInnovationFarmer agencyEuropeShort food supply chainEconomic viability
Past event Conference March 10th 2020 Ottignies-Louvain-la-NeuveProduction systemsHow can current farming systems contribute to provide sustainable and local food?How to measure the social and environmental footprint of our food habits? Which are the land use opportunities for more sustainable and local food systems? How can vegetable production at the regional level meet these challenges?Vegetable sectorLand use planningProspective scenariosEnvironmental footprint
Publication of October 31st 2023 PhD thesisProduction systemsExploring Intercropping in Market Gardening : A story of combinationsA PhD thesis on intercropping between vegetables, in the context of small-scale market gardening, mobilizing an exploratory approach combining on-field trials in experimental station and on-farm participatory trials. Vegetable sectorIntercroppingSmall-scale farmingWalloniaParticipatory processAgroecology
Publication of September 9th 2023 Research articleProduction systemsAssessing crop sequence diversity and agronomic quality in grassland regionsThis study aims to provide an assessment of the diversity and agronomic quality of crop rotation/sequence, generalised grassland regions and regions with a high rate of organic farming. The assessment methods are applied to Famenne, Ardenne and the Jurassic region of Wallonia.Organic agricultureCereals sectorBeef meat sectorMeadows and pastureAgricultural land managementDiversitySustainability indicatorsAgricultural inputs
Publication of August 7th 2023 ReportProduction systemsSeeds systems and varietal choices in organic vegetable productionA case study on seed systems in the vegetable organic sector, regarding small-scale farming in the French Alps. This research examines how the economic, technical, educational and social context influences the choices of farmers when choosing varieties and seeds.Organic agricultureVegetable sectorSeedsDiversitySmall-scale farmingFranceLock-insTransition enablersAgroecology
Publication of July 4th 2023 MSc thesisProduction systemsOpportunities for vegetable seed production in WalloniaThis Master thesis aims to shed light on the seed sector in Wallonia, and more specifically on the production of open-pollinated seeds of vegetable varieties.Organic agricultureVegetable sectorBreedingInnovationEuropeSmall-scale farmingBelgiumWalloniaBiodiversity
Publication of April 15th 2023 Research articleProduction systemsAccounting for diversity while assessing sustainability: insights from the Walloon bovine sectorsA scientific paper on the importance of accounting for the diversity of farms when assessing sustainability. We take the opportunity to discuss the dilemmas of sustainability assessments and show that economic and environmental performances can go hand in hand. Open-access link below.Dairy sectorBeef meat sectorSustainability indicatorsEnvironmental footprint
Publication of April 14th 2023 Research articleProduction systemsThe social cost of pesticide use in FrancePesticides are widely used in agricultural systems. In collaboration with the BASIC team in Paris, we published the first assessment of the cost of pesticide use for the budget of the French state. A scientific paper published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems (open access)PolicyPesticidesFrance
Publication of July 2nd 2021 CommunicationProduction systemsCrop diversification: recommendations for overcoming barriersThe diversification of cropping systems is still limited due to barriers occurring at the farm level, along value chains as well as in the coordination between actors. What are the policies needed to effectively foster crop diversification in EU countries?Cereals sectorProtein cropsInnovationEuropeIntercroppingPathway dependancyBiodiversityTransition enablers