Co-Creating Sustainable Agriculture: Upscaling Crop Rotation and Biodiversity at the Farm Level through Living Labs and Digital Technologies

The Mediterranean is the European region most exposed to soil degradation, drought and biodiversity loss, yet 95% of its arable land is already under cultivation. CropRotaM demonstrates that diversified crop rotations, living-soil inputs and smart farming technologies can restore fragile land while improving farmer livelihoods.

Working through a network of five multi-actor Living Labs in Italy, Spain, Turkey, Germany and Tunisia, the project co-designs and validates climate-resilient cropping systems with the farmers who will use them. Agronomic trials, circular bio-inputs, a shared open-data backbone and rigorous carbon and socio-economic assessment together build the evidence base for a region-wide agroecological transition.

The context

Mediterranean agriculture faces converging pressures: soil degradation and desertification, water scarcity projected to put over 250 million people at risk of water poverty within two decades, steep biodiversity loss and smallholders squeezed by high input costs and low margins. Intensive monocropping and agrochemical overuse deplete organic matter and erode soils, threatening long-term food security. Farmers need agroecological alternatives that maintain productivity while rebuilding resilience, but adoption has been slow because the benefits have rarely been proven under real farm conditions.

Our approach

CropRotaM upscales agroecology at farm level through transdisciplinary Living Labs where farmers, scientists, advisors and SMEs co-create Agroecological Innovation Packages tailored to each site. Each package combines diversified rotations (cereal-legume-oilseed), intercropping and conservation tillage with nature-based inputs (compost, biochar, microbial inoculants) and smart tools (soil sensors, variable-rate fertilization, an open knowledge portal). Practices are tested side-by-side against conventional baselines over multiple seasons, monitored for carbon, biodiversity and profitability, then packaged for replication across similar Mediterranean contexts.

Expected results

• Five context-specific, validated Agroecological Innovation Packages demonstrated in Italy, Spain, Turkey, Germany and Tunisia
• ≥ 20% reduction in net GHG emissions per hectare, with measurable soil-organic-carbon gains at demonstration sites
• ≥ 20% cut in synthetic fertiliser and pesticide use without yield loss
• A FAIR, open-access data portal with interactive maps, datasets and a best-practice library
• ≥ 500 farmers and end-users engaged and trained, with strong participation of women and youth
• At least two policy briefs and two new agri-food or cooperative business models benefiting smallholders