Rural economies and smallholder communities face significant challenges in sustaining agricultural production due to low incomes, inefficient practices, and limited access to markets and information. Addressing these issues requires holistic farming models that integrate sustainable human activities within supportive ecosystems.
Farms4Climate (F4C), coordinated by the AIR Institute, brings together an international consortium dedicated to transforming Mediterranean smallholder agriculture through agroecological principles and innovation. The initiative centers on establishing sustainable community-based organizations (CBOs) and implementing advanced carbon farming practices. Living Labs (LLs) provide the foundation for collaboration, experimentation, and knowledge sharing, with a focus on developing scalable models that combine environmental, social, and economic sustainability.
Through its Living Labs, F4C seeks to develop digital tools and business frameworks that empower rural eco-entrepreneurship and foster gender-transformative dynamics, effectively addressing the challenges of climate-smart agriculture. The project adopts a participatory, multi-actor approach to maximize impact, following a four-phase co-creation cycle: define, co-design, implement, and evaluate. This iterative process enables the continuous refinement of methodologies and ensures the creation of validated, scalable outcomes.
With its innovative and forward-thinking vision, the F4C project aims to transform Mediterranean agriculture into a carbon-negative, inclusive, and sustainable economic driver.
