Wheat intercropping with canola promotes biological control of aphids by enhancing enemy diversity
Intensive agriculture relies largely on monocultures and plant protection chemicals to sustain food security but leaning towards such practices undermines environmental sustainability due to negative impacts towards ecosystem services. This increases the need of biodiversity driven pest management strategies especially for wheat, one of the main food crops, worldwide. In Pakistan, which is comprised in […]
Ecological approach to organic farming in the Tropics – Introducing the active system approach
This factsheet introduces the ecological approach to organic farming, changes that are necessary to implement the approach, expected benefits, and provides a few examples of recommended systems for the tropics. The information is based on long-term experiments and on-farm research conducted in the scope of three projects across different countries in Africa, as well as […]
Agricultural diversification promotes multiple ecosystem services without compromising yield
The research is published in Science Advanced. Enhancing biodiversity in cropping systems is suggested to promote ecosystem services, thereby reducing dependency on agronomic inputs while maintaining high crop yields. We assess the impact of several diversification practices in cropping systems on above- and belowground biodiversity and ecosystem services by reviewing 98 meta-analyses and performing a […]
An action-research exploration of value chain development from field to consumer based on organic hempseed oil in Sicily
Although hemp cultivation is increasingly perceived as a promising option in terms of crop diversification, especially in semi-arid conditions such as in the Mediterranean region, its adoption remains limited thus constraining the development of hemp value chains at a larger scale. Our objective was to explore suitable conditions, at farm and downstream levels, for organic […]
