Cooperation Offer

Challenges of Rearing Livestock on Woody Pastures – setting up an exchange network in support of extensive livestock farmers

Offer name: 
Challenges of Rearing Livestock on Woody Pastures – setting up an exchange network in support of extensive livestock farmers
Expiry date: 
01/12/2017
Offering LAG: 
GAL Cevennes
Country:
  • France
Spoken languages:
  • anglais - français

Looking to cooperate with

Type of partner: 

ALL EU, with a focus on LAGs located in areas with a relatively high proportion of woody pastures and livestock farming.

Country(ies):
  • Union européenne
Type of area:
  • National / Regional borders, Inland, Island, Coastal, Mountainous, Peri-Urban, Rural, Isolated / Remote
Assets of the area:
  • High Nature Value, Pasture, Forest, Non-productive, Protected areas

Project idea

Project type:
    • Cooperation within the country
    • Across regions
    • Cooperation within the country
    • Within the same region
    • Transnational cooperation
    • Cross - border cooperation
    • Transnational cooperation
    • With other MSs (no shared border)
Project topic:
    • Innovation
    • Agriculture & Farming
    • Livestock
    • Natural environment & Resources / Landscape
    • Governance
    • Employment / job creation
Additional keywords:
  • forestry
Context: 

Rearing livestock on woody pastures can produce numerous social and environmental benefits: preserving open habitats and biodiversity, reducing wildfire hazard, maintaining farming activity in remote or marginal rural areas, and producing food using farmland with no alternative agricultural use.
Nevertheless, the extensive farmers who use such pastures usually lack recognition and visibility, both locally and at the national/international level. Their meat, milk or cheeses face strong competition from those produced at lower costs on more intensive farms which don’t deliver as many social or environmental benefits.
At the same time, agricultural policies usually discriminate against woody pastures with restrictive rules that limit their eligibility for CAP payments, a situation which is rarely compensated by targeted and well-funded rural development schemes.
The fact that in 2011 UNESCO has labeled Causses & Cevennes in worldheritage for their cultural landscapes of agropastoralism, is an additional motivation for our LAG to treat this topic.

Project idea summary: 

Rearing livestock on woody pastures can produce numerous social and environmental benefits: preserving open habitats and biodiversity, reducing wildfire hazard, maintaining farming activity in remote or marginal rural areas, and producing food using farmland with no alternative agricultural use. Nevertheless, the extensive farmers who use such pastures usually lack recognition and visibility, and are severely affected by inappropriate agricultural policies.
With this transnational cooperation project we aim to contribute to improving this challenging situation for farmers by:
i) improving internal (local to regional) and external (national to international) communication on the benefits and challenges associated with rearing livestock on woody pastures, and
ii) exchanging on how these challenges are being addressed across regions in different European countries, including best practice examples in farming and policy implementation.
iii) Benchmarking and best practices between local authorities, LAG and farmers

Objectives: 

We aim to improve knowledge and communication on an internal (local and regional) as well as on a external (national and international) level on the benefits and challenges associated with rearing livestock on woody pastures, and exchange on how these challenges are best being addressed across regions in different European countries.
The primary target group of this transnational exchange network is grassroots organisations of extensive livestock farmers, or individual engaged farmers where such groups do not exist. The secondary target group is organisations and agencies who support and work closely with such organisations of livestock farmers.
To attain these objectives, we foresee the following activities.
i) Two transnational meetings, at the beginning (planning/strategy) and end (result sharing) of the project.
ii) Developing communication tools and strategies to raise awareness by local stakeholders on shared interest between extensive livestock farming and local development.
iii) Creating a catalogue of best practice on how to address the main challenges identified and to highlight technical competence of pastoral livestock farmers in very diverse natural environments.