Participating countries
Galicia - Spain
The Galician RAIN will act as lighthouse RAIN for the new AF4EU RAINs of Portugal, Belgium and Ireland. This RAIN is located in Galicia, an Atlantic Climate region at NW Spain, extending its activities to the whole region but mainly focused on the Lugo and A Coruña provinces including agricultural, forest and mountain areas.
The RAIN activities will observe the best combination of trees and livestock for potential value chains as well as reducing fire risk and preserving autochthonous breeds.
Germany
The German RAIN is located in Saxony-Anhalt in Central Germany. Due to collectivization and specialization in the former GDR, the agricultural landscape is shaped by its socialist history. With an average farm size of 268 hectares of agricultural land in 2020, farms in Saxony-Anhalt are significantly larger than the national average of 63 hectares. However, agroforestry systems in the federal state remain small and scarce. In 2022, the German Agroforestry Association (DeFAF) has registered a total of 103 hectares of land under agroforestry in Saxony-Anhalt
France
France has a large cultivable area with approximately 27 million ha
equivalent to just under half of the total area of the territory, where forests
represent 31% of the territory.
The cultivable land located on either side of the
45th parallel of north latitude allows a great diversity of production. France is therefore
characterized by a variety of landscapes, products and culinary traditions,
each with its specificities.
Permanent crops represent 5% of the used
agricultural area in France, a large part of which is vineyards and orchards. Field crops represent
45% of the agricultural area used, including 89% for cereals, and 50% of the
agricultural area used for fodder crops and grasslands.
Portugal
The portuguese RAIN will center its efforts in the territory of the Intermunicipal Communities of Terras de Trás-os-Montes and Alto Tâmega and Barroso.
Their dominant land use systems are Grassland and Shrublands (43%), Agriculture (anual and permanente crops - 26%), Forests (25%), Outcrops (3%), Urban (2%) and Wetlands (1%). The RAIN mostly concentrates on fire risk reduction in forests and woodlands, as well as sustainability of extensive livestock farming systems.
Finland
The target areas for Finnish RAIN are in southern Finland and eastern Finland. Whereas both areas have some wood pastures, the southern region also has some silvoarable systems. The eastern region is strongly forested, and the southern region has more land in agricultural use. Overall, agroforestry is quite a new concept - yet practiced also in the past – in the margins of conventional agriculture in these regions.
Italy
The target area is located in Central Italy and matches that of the Bolsena Lake Bio-District, involving 18 municipalities on an area of just over 1000 km2.
A Bio-district is a geographical area where farmers, citizens, associations and local administrations make a deal for sustainable resources management, by means of organic and high natural value farming systems.
Slovakia
Turčianske Teplice lies at an altitude of 520 metres above sea level and covers an area of 33.483 square kilometres. It lies in the Turiec Basin and is surrounded in proximity by the Greater Fatra, Kremnica, Žiar and Lesser Fatra mountain ranges.
Greece
The target area is located in Central Greece and matches the municipalities of Karpenisi and Agrafa. It is an area with intense geophysical relief. Mountains Tymfristos and Agrafa included in the European Network Natura2000. Wood pasture and silvopastoral systems are of particular importance as they have formed traditional cultural landscapes shaped by the long-term grazing of sheep and goats.
Andalucia - Spain
More than 33 % of the surface of Andalusia falls into the Natura 2000 network: 95 % of the extensive livestock farming, with its autochthonous breeds, is located in this area. Various models can be distinguished: forest, la Dehesa, mountain systems and other uses (fallow land, crop residues).
The development of the RAIN will be realised by establishing synergies with other regional initiatives such as: development of Biodistricts, "On-day Agroecology Gathering" extension service and European projects related to Agroforestry to promote Living Labs in Agroecology and Soil Health recovery.
