Crops Management
Biogas Production
Water Management
Rewarding Mechanisms
Energy Management
Agroforestry and Relation to Landscape
Manure Storage and Spreading
Soil Health and Biodiversity
Forage Production
Grassland Management
Herd Management
European agriculture faces increasing challenges linked to climate change, pressure on natural resources, and the need to ensure both economic and environmental sustainability. This Practice Abstract addresses the need to accelerate the uptake of climate-smart practices by using AKIS as learning environments where farmers, advisors, researchers, public authorities, and other actors can exchange knowledge and explore context-specific solutions.
The practice activates AKIS spaces through visible and observable climate-smart practices and on-farm learning. It recognizes that not all practices are directly replicable across
territories, production systems, or socio-economic contexts, but that all can inspire adapted solutions when participants are able to observe them in real-life conditions. Direct observation, interaction with farmers and advisors, and discussion of practical results strengthen understanding and encourage peer-to-peer learning.
The approach is structured around three methodological pillars, see more in additional information section. Practices are selected for their contribution to climate mitigation, adaptation, resource efficiency, resilience, or biodiversity, and for their visibility and observability. Organized visits to demonstration farms, workshops, and field days are complemented by webinars, demonstration videos, and technical sheets, allowing knowledge to be reviewed, shared, and adapted later. Advisors, farmers, and AKIS facilitators work together to identify transferable elements, support contextual adaptation, and strengthen collective learning.
Benefits: deeper experiential learning, stronger knowledge exchange, promotion of critical thinking and diversity of solutions, and more effective integration of climate action into AKIS spaces. Costs mainly relate to coordination, facilitation, organization of visits, and preparation of supporting materials. The approach has been tested in ClimateSmartAdvisors and Climate Farm Demo projects.
La agricultura europea se enfrenta a retos cada vez mayores relacionados con el cambio climático, la presión sobre los recursos naturales y la necesidad de garantizar la sostenibilidad tanto económica como medioambiental. Este resumen de buenas prácticas aborda la necesidad de acelerar la adopción de prácticas climáticamente inteligentes mediante el uso de AKIS como entornos de aprendizaje en los que agricultores, asesores, investigadores, autoridades públicas y otros actores puedan intercambiar conocimientos y explorar soluciones adaptadas a cada contexto.
Esta iniciativa dinamiza los espacios AKIS mediante prácticas climáticamente inteligentes visibles y observables, así como mediante el aprendizaje en las propias explotaciones. Se reconoce que no todas las prácticas son directamente replicables en todos los territorios, sistemas de producción o contextos socioeconómicos, pero que todas pueden inspirar soluciones adaptadas cuando los participantes pueden observarlas en condiciones reales. La observación directa, la interacción con los agricultores y los asesores, y el debate sobre los resultados prácticos refuerzan la comprensión y fomentan el aprendizaje entre pares… La observación directa, la interacción con los agricultores y los asesores, y el análisis de los resultados prácticos refuerzan la comprensión y fomentan el aprendizaje entre pares.
El enfoque se articula en torno a tres pilares metodológicos; para más información, consulte la sección de información adicional. Las prácticas se seleccionan por su contribución a la mitigación del cambio climático, la adaptación al mismo, la eficiencia en el uso de los recursos, la resiliencia o la biodiversidad, así como por su visibilidad y observabilidad. Las visitas organizadas a explotaciones de demostración, los talleres y las jornadas de campo se complementan con seminarios web, vídeos de demostración y fichas técnicas, lo que permite revisar, compartir y adaptar los conocimientos posteriormente. Los asesores, los agricultores y los facilitadores de AKIS colaboran para identificar elementos transferibles, apoyar la adaptación al contexto y reforzar el aprendizaje colectivo.
Ventajas: un aprendizaje experiencial más profundo, un intercambio de conocimientos más sólido, el fomento del pensamiento crítico y la diversidad de soluciones, y una integración más eficaz de la acción climática en los espacios de AKIS. Los costes se refieren principalmente a la coordinación, la facilitación, la organización de visitas y la preparación de materiales de apoyo. Este enfoque se ha puesto a prueba en los proyectos ClimateSmartAdvisors y Climate Farm Demo.
The first methodological pillar, identification of climate-smart practices, starts with a preliminary assessment of participating farms. It identifies practices that contribute to climate mitigation, such as greenhouse gas reduction, soil carbon sequestration, and energy efficiency; improve climate adaptation, such as resilience to droughts, floods, and extreme events; and enhance resource efficiency, including water, fertilizers, animal feed, and functional biodiversity. Selected practices are chosen for their visibility and observability so participants can directly appreciate results and processes.
The second methodological pillar, on-farm learning and field visits, includes organized visits to demonstration farms, workshops, and field days. These activities allow participants to observe climate-smart practices in action, interact with farmers and advisors implementing
them, analyze effects on production, soil, biodiversity, and emissions, and discuss adaptability and replication potential in different local contexts. Face-to-face experiences generate connection, trust, and understanding that are difficult to achieve through digital formats alone.
The third methodological pillar, complementary digital tools, broadens reach and accessibility through webinars explaining each practice, demonstration videos of processes and outcomes, and technical sheets with implementation guidelines and contextual considerations. This hybrid approach combines the impact of on-farm observation with digital dissemination, ensuring that knowledge can be reviewed and adapted later.
Climate action is further integrated through the selection of practices with proven climate impact, the use of simple and observable performance indicators such as biomass recovered, fertilizer reduction, or increased soil cover, contextual adaptation to different farms and territories, co-creation with advisors and farmers, and dissemination supported by digital tools and feedback sessions.
