The next challenge for the ReMIX project (Species mixtures for redesigning European cropping systems) has been unveiled by the team’s coordinators. Writing in the project’s third newsletter, they highlight the importance of winning the support of policy makers in increasing the adoption of intercropping.
They write: “The next step to boost the adoption of intercropping is probably to convince policy makers to propose new European and associated national policies that strongly support intercropping in Europe, in order to overcome blockages and economic barriers.
“We know about the ecosystem services provided by species mixtures, although some assumed functions still need to be assessed and researched in the ongoing work at ReMIX and beyond. But this knowledge needs to be widely disseminated. We are therefore strongly encouraging all of you to continue working hard at ReMIX to finalise the work on promising results and to disseminate the new knowledge produced.”
Next year marks the end of the project and there will be a couple of key events. The first is the ‘Intercropping for sustainability’ online scientific conference on January 19 and 20, 2021. This is being co-organised by the UK’s Association of Applied Biologists (AAB), together with DIVERSify and ReMIX. The second is the ReMIX final meeting, which takes place on March 24 and 25, 2021, in Brussels and is preceded on March 23 by the project’s final conference, which is open to the public.
The newsletter also provides the opportunity to catch up with the project’s 11 Multi-Actor Platforms (MAPs). These are distributed across Europe and allow ReMIX to share novel scientific knowledge with partners, farmers, advisers and other stakeholders, in addition to society in general through social media.
For example, farmers in the Spanish MAP, who are concentrating on organic crop mixtures for human consumption, have identified post-harvest grain separation as the “most expensive and time-consuming step”. To tackle this, a group of 15 farmers has formed an association to acquire mobile machinery to clean and separate grain. After training this June, the machinery is now operational.
In the West-France MAP, work has been conducted on intercropping to reduce pest attacks. This has included growing oilseed rape with legumes to reduce flea beetle attacks, which seems to be a promising approach. Meanwhile, the German MAP has concentrated on producing high-quality baking wheat in combination with pea crops.
Other highlights in the newsletter include news on the development of a serious game called Interplay, which is designed to support fresh thinking on cereal/legume intercrops among farmers, advisers and students. There are also updates on a decision support tool being developed in France and news on models for identifying the best management strategies.
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