MACSUR: Modeling European Agriculture with Climate Change for food Security (Knowlwdge Hub)

Ente finanziatore: MiPAAF e Ministeri dell’Agricoltura delle varie nazioni partecipanti

Unità di Ricerca (UNITUS – DAFNE)

Responsabile scientifico: Gabriele Dono

Partecipanti: Gabriele Dono, Nicola Lacetera, Simone Severini, Raffaele Cortignani, Andrea Vitali, Davide Dell’Unto,

Durata: 1/07/2015 - 30/06/2018

Link (https://macsur.eu/)

Abstract

The knowledge hub MACSUR aims at improving modelling methodologies and sound case study applications leading to improved assessments of climate change on European agriculture. MACSUR made significant progress in the linking of models and scientific communities across individual disciplines for contributions to regional and European assessments.  Evaluating and comparing models for assessments at farm-scale and including livestock has been a major step forward for providing the basis for regional and European-scale assessments. At the aggregated European level, adaptation and mitigation, economy and environment, policy and consumer interests meet, so that modelling becomes very complex.

Several important conclusions emerged: Improving animal health and welfare are important adaptation and mitigation strategies; crop, livestock, farm and socio-economic models should be able to respond to adaptation measures and provide links to climate and land use change; linking models across scales, interaction with stakeholders, and cross-sectorial learning are vital for supporting decisions at policy level. With improved modelling of crops and livestock, socio-economic models developed and applied in MACSUR, the Knowledge Hub now provides the links to global and regional economies and links to the internationally agreed shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP) scenarios. The key message from the assessments is that future legislative frameworks for mitigation, adaptation and resource management as well as consumer behaviour are crucial for how well regional and European agriculture can deal with climate change.

Research in MACSUR has been documented in more than 200 peer-reviewed publications including significant strategy papers, several special issues of journals, numerous presentations, and a great number of interactions with policymakers and stakeholders along the agro-food chain.