Implementation of husbandry practices improving quality and sustainability: a living lab approach

Summary

The living lab approach to innovation is receiving increasing attention also in the agricultural sector in view of the current environmental, economic, and social challenges. This contribution presents some preliminary results of INTAQT project (EU Horizon 2020), which aims to perform an in- depth multi-criteria assessment of the relationships between animal husbandry and qualities of products. In specific, this research aims to identify and implement on-farm changes in the production processes (e.g. feeding regimes, outdoor access, herd management), which are expected to improve intrinsic quality traits of the products and/or sustainability traits of the farms. A participatory approach was used to establish farmer field-groups (living labs) representative of the different geographic regions and of the main production systems involved in the project. Each farmer field group involves from 5 to 8 farms. The groups are established considering different husbandry systems according to a gradient of intensification (extensive vs intensive systems): 3 groups for dairy farms (Ireland, northern Italy and France); two groups for beef farms (Switzerland and northern Italy); two groups for poultr (France and Italy). The methodological approach is based on 5 steps: (1) tarting analytical phase: a critical analysis of trade-offs / synergies between sustainability and quality traits for each farmfield group; (2) decision phase: development of practices to improve the identified synergies / mitigate trade-offs; (3) implementation phase: implementation of practices for at least one year. During this time, 2-3 meetings of the whole farmers group on farms allow farmers discussions about their experiences, successes and drawbacks; (4) concluding analytical phase: the aim is to analyse the effects of the implementation of the practices during a last meeting in the farmer’s groups and presentation of the analysis results; (5) scientific data analysis and interpretation. The first results of this approach will be presented and discussed. The ambition is to establish a network of living labs usable as pilot and demonstration enterprises regarding practice improvements for better food quality and sustainability.