New Collaboration on the Horizon: FarmBioNet & VALOR
VALOR and FarmBioNet are announcing a strategic collaboration to share knowledge and raise awareness about protecting pollinators and biodiversity. Together, they aim to help stakeholders understand the crucial role pollinators play and facilitate the exchange of knowledge on safeguarding biodiversity and supporting healthy ecosystems.
VALOR: The Value of Pollinators and Society’s Dependence on Them
VALOR is a Horizon Europe project that brings together interdisciplinary researchers, NGOs, and businesses to better understand the benefits pollinators provide to society and the economy. The project focuses on the specific needs of seven focal regions to build a better understanding of the flow of pollination benefits across actors, while making its methods, tools, databases and models visible and accessible.
The project’s approach is designed to explore how pollination affects everything from flowers and ecosystems to crops, farm businesses, societies, value chains and human health and well-being.
VALOR uses this knowledge to forecast how different actors may be affected by changes in pollinator populations under a range of plausible future scenarios, and translates these insights into decision-support tools, both of which are co-developed with stakeholders.
FarmBioNet’s Commitment to Biodiversity
FarmBioNet is a Horizon Europe project focused on promoting biodiversity-friendly farming practices across Europe. BFF practices support nature by making agricultural landscapes more diverse and connected. They include actions that protect and enhance farmland biodiversity, help combat and mitigate against climate change, and help to maintain healthy ecosystems while producing food, feed, fiber, and fuel.
These practices can be adapted to different farming systems, including foresty across Europe. Examples include managing native hay meadows, maintaining native flowering hedgerows or field margins, planting native trees and hedgerows, reducing pesticide use, digging a pond, and creating nesting sites for solitary bees.
Through 12 national networks established in the first year of the project, FarmBioNet maintains close collaboration with farmers and facilitates the exchange of both traditional knowledge and evidence-based actions.
Why this collaboration matters
The collaboration between FarmBioNet and VALOR combines research expertise, practical farming experience, and stakeholder engagement to tackle the challenges facing pollinators and biodiversity. By joining forces, the two projects can deliver clear benefits for farmers, ecosystems, and society, including:
Enhanced knowledge exchange: Combines VALOR’s scientific research with FarmBioNet’s national network insights to share practical insights on pollinators and biodiversity.
Bridging science and practice: Translates research findings into practical, on-farm solutions that protect biodiversity.
Stronger pollinator protection: Raises awareness of the vital role of pollinators and promotes practices that support their survival.
Improved decision-making: Integrates VALOR’s forecasting and decision-support tools with FarmBioNet’s insights and tools to help farmers and stakeholders make informed choices.
Cross-regional collaboration: Encourages learning and sharing of solutions across different regions, farming systems, and sectors.
Increased efficiency and impact: By sharing tools, methods, and networks, both projects maximise resources and strengthen the overall effect of their efforts.