How to square the circle? A conceptual framework synergising strategies for circular agriculture to tackle climate change and enhance overall on-farm sustainability

Summary

There is an urgent need to change the current extractive and resource-intensive agricultural practices. Adopting circular practices within the agricultural system could provide multiple benefits of slowing global climate change, reducing extractive practices and helping farmers to adapt to a changing climate. However, there are still many barriers for farmers to adopt these desired circular agriculture (CA) practices, among others, a lack of information about on-farm circular practices. There is a need to support farmers in recognising which strategies can increase the circularity of their farm and what this means in terms of their farms’ climate neutrality and its long-term sustainability. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to develop a novel conceptual framework to facilitate a broader and integrated understanding of how on-farm CA strategies and practices contribute to the goals of climate change mitigation and on-farm sustainability, thus supporting farmers in transitioning their farms towards greater circularity.