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Project Topic
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The key objective of PASTINNOVA is to re-enforce the sustainability, profitability and resilience of small pastoral farms, by setting up innovations, business and organizational models to valorize their full potential and promote their access to markets. In particular, PASTINNOVA examines pastoral systems which are able to provide a broad array of ecosystem services (ES) (from habitat services to cultural heritage or rural livelihoods) along with high-quality products (e.g. dairy, meat, wool and processed) in a variety of agro-ecological and socio-economic Mediterranean settings. PASTINNOVA encompasses this rich variety in the Mediterranean but focuses on smallholders maintaining ‘pastoral identities’ by making sustainable use of local resources at risk of abandonment and providing examples of circular economy for centuries and an alternative to dominant intensive livestock. PASTINNOVA proposes a holistic interdisciplinary approach to address and tackle the weak positioning of pastoral smallholders in Value Chains of Pastoral products (VCP) (including short and circular ones). ‘Living Laboratories’ (LLs) will be established to co-create innovative solutions for farmer organizations, farm management and VCP through the integration of needs, capacities and experiences of actors (e.g. farmers, entrepreneurs, manufacturers, retailers, policy makers, researchers, consumers). Selected solutions will be tested and implemented in small-scale real-life applications and assessed for their sustainability (economic, social, environmental). Particular focus will be set on the inclusion of vulnerable groups (e.g. women, young farmers and migrant workers) as well as on environmental performances of pastoral agro-ecosystems and chains, promoting sustainable and profitable use of farm waste. This way, PASTINNOVA will deliver innovations and models adapted to the characteristics and profiles of Mediterranean pastoralists and territories, also by proposing a supportive policy framework and necessary value chain and market arrangements for efficient access to markets. PASTINNOVA will employ a methodological framework which combines participatory approaches, assessments and real-life applications, where four elements interact (1) Diagnosis (listing of innovative project, practices and initiatives); (2) Testing of selected innovations under different contexts; (3) Small-scale pilot implementation, sustainability assessment; (4) Policy and market uptake. PASTINNOVA is in the core of sustainable rural development, where pastoralism constitutes an alternative pathway to industrial livestock production. The project aspires to deliver demand-driven smart and sustainable pastoral farms, agro-ecosystems and VCP, adapted to the socio-cultural characteristics of farmers with ‘pastoral identities’ and their territories, profitable under actual conditions and resilient to future challenges. PASTINNOVA will integrate an effective pooling of existing pastoral resources with research outputs, knowledge and capacities, bringing together most of the most important actors in pastoral production in the Mediterranean (20 partners from 12 countries), with significant experience and knowledge, whose combined capitalization will be a decisive step forward towards more sustainable and resilient pastoralism. The key impact of PASTINNOVA will relate to the fulfillment of the true potential of pastoral systems with relevant benefits for smallholder pastoralists. Co-creation within LLs is a key measure demonstrating the effectiveness of the project approach to ensure maximum impact.
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