Last March, José M. M. Pais, BovINE’s Network Manager in Portugal, was invited by Consulai to participate in a workshop hosted by the EU funded project “MIXED – Efficient and Resilient Mixed Farming & Agroforestry”. This project has been funded by the European Union through the Horizon 2020 program. The coordinators of the MIXED project are based at the University of Aarhus in Denmark and has partners at 18 other organisations and institutions across Europe, including two partners based in Portugal – the Institute of Agronomy (University of Lisbon) and Consulai. 

MIXED aims to explore the benefits of mixed farming and agroforestry systems (MiFAS) for the climate, environment and society in general and support the development of such systems. 

14 existing farmer Networks have been identified located in 10 countries in Europe practising mixed farming and/or agroforestry, that hold significant innovation potential in terms of efficiency and resilience, and which will be actively involved in the development and implementation of project activities.  

These Networks are organised into three themes based on the combination of livestock, trees and arable crops. 

Participating in the workshop proved to be quite interesting due to the existence of common objectives between the BovINE and the MIXED project.