Multifunctional landscapes in extensive agroecosystems

Code:

ATN/RF-21247-RG

Initiative:

Call for Proposals

FONTAGRO Amount:

USD 200.000

Counterpart Amount:

USD 400.693

Execution time

48 Months

Total Amount:

USD 600.693

Participating countries:

Uruguay

Argentina

Funding source:

FONTAGRO Amount 33% Other agencies 0% Counterpart Amount 67%

Executive Summary

In Argentina and Uruguay, agriculture is an important economic pillar due to its exceptional production levels, which meet the population's needs and generate significant income. However, the expansion of agriculture, driven by technological advances, climate change phenomena, and market conditions, has harmed the environment. In both countries, agricultural practices are associated with excessive use of farm inputs and the adoption of intensive cropping sequences.

In this project, we aim to demonstrate that conserving natural or semi-natural environments and landscape diversification are important for restoring and maintaining essential crop ecological services. Among other benefits, these aspects promote agricultural yields, reduce dependence on agrochemicals, minimize the presence of pests and weeds, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We aim to achieve a sustainable transition through designing, implementing, and evaluating multifunctional landscapes. To this end, we will use methodologies that integrate satellite information, statistical tools, and machine learning for analyzing agricultural data, virtual landscape modeling, implementing and monitoring biodiversity-based solutions in the field, and communication strategies to share knowledge and promote adoption.

The technological solution

This initiative aims to promote the development of multifunctional landscapes in Argentina and Uruguay through sustainable practices. It focuses on improving the management of big data and enhancing governance through participatory mechanisms. The experienced team will address challenges by utilizing innovative approaches to optimize national data analysis and interpret environmental and socio-economic information for the productive sector in both countries. The procedure involves creating cross-sectoral strategies to broaden the impact of these transitions, with the ultimate goal of developing tools for landscape-level decision-making. The initiative also seeks to promote the diversification of agricultural systems with resilient production and contribute to food security in the Pampas biome. Specific goals include studying the impact of edges through precision agriculture, designing models for multifunctional landscapes, implementing and monitoring key aspects through territorial case studies, as well as managing knowledge and communications.

Results

The project is expected to have positive economic, environmental, and social impacts by contributing to national development agendas. It will lead to improvements in production, value added to derived products, and producers' incomes. The project aims to generate public policies that incentivize and bring transparency to market dynamics, as well as private agreements that expand production capacities. By developing models and conducting fieldwork, the project will gather information on practices that enhance production yields, optimize agricultural processes, and reduce environmental costs.

Emphasis will be placed on capacity building, technical assistance to producers, and training of human resources in academia and production. The results will be communicated during and after the project.

In terms of the business plan, the project will produce technical notes with yield maps, spatially explicit models, agricultural databases, scientific articles, workshop reports, communication material, work methodologies, and results reports. The project aims to make these tools available to increase farm profitability by reducing management costs and diversifying production. The business model is geared towards improving the competitiveness of producers and facilitating entry opportunities in national and international markets. These mechanisms will benefit producers who want to adopt more sustainable management practices, directly benefiting the agricultural sector and indirectly benefiting consumers, who will access more varied and higher quality food.

The business plan does not include generating income from producers or adopters, as the objective is to expand the implementation scope as much as possible. Alternative funding sources will be sought to continue activities beyond the project period. The model will rely on physical resources (infrastructure of participating institutions and collaborating producer groups), human resources (development of training and technical training grants), and financial resources (subsidies from various research projects).

Beneficiaries

The initiative benefits both the public and private sectors. Initially, producers of different scales will benefit from an exchange of knowledge with technicians and researchers. Later, they will benefit from the positive effects of the transition in production. Among the tens of thousands of farmers who provide agricultural data to SIMA databases, those who will access the predictive models developed for designing multifunctional landscapes will directly benefit. In addition, producers will receive training as part of the communication activities.

At the institutional level, the National University of Rio Negro (UNRN), the South American Institute for Resilience and Sustainability Studies (SARAS), and the Uruguayan Centre for Appropriate Technologies (CEUTA), together with other organizations and civil associations of producers such as the Regional Agricultural Experimentation Consortia (AACREA in Argentina and FUCREA in Uruguay), are direct beneficiaries. Training of human resources in the framework of this project will be especially beneficial for individuals in the early stages of their careers within multidisciplinary teams.

Indirect beneficiaries include the Science and Technology (S&T) system and the academic community, as all knowledge generated will contribute to strengthening the economic, productive, and statistical models in both countries. Furthermore, the project results will have a wider impact on the agricultural sector in Argentina and Uruguay, as well as on the actors involved in land use planning at the municipal, departmental, and national levels.