Building a network of long-term experiments on agroecology and organic farming

Sustainable development of agri-food systems is a key priority for the future. Organic farming, widely considered as an explicit form of sustainable farming system, is steadily increasing in Europe in terms of production and market. The functioning of organic cropping systems is based on complex biological processes which are strongly inter-connected with the physical environment and the human management. This makes organic cropping systems models also for other cropping systems based on reduced use of external inputs and on agroecological practices. To understand this complexity and to facilitate the transition of all agri-food systems to become more sustainable, organic long-term field experiments implementing the principles of agroecology are thus needed. They could be powerful research facilities to produce science-based knowledge essential to support prospective agricultural policies for the solution of societal challenges, e.g. climate-change mitigation and food security. We thus propose to build the first international network of organic long-term field experiments designed and managed in accordance with agroecological principles and practices. Launching such an international network of organic long-term field research experiences will therefore i) reduce knowledge gaps and harmonize methodological approaches, resulting in higher impact of their results; ii) promote the quality and quantity of research for the transition of the agri-food systems to become more sustainable; iii) expand the opportunity for collaborative, multi-actor research and co-innovation actions across the organic long-term experiments community; iv) to pave the road for further initiatives such as the European food system research infrastructure.