CLIMPLEMENT - How farmers and agricultural actors can implement effective climate solutions

The agricultural sector needs to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) as part of the worldwide efforts to mitigate climate change. Accordingly, in 2019, the farmer unions and the Government of Norway signed a letter of intent to significantly reduce GHG emissions and increase carbon capture and storage in agriculture over the next decade. But how can this be achieved in practice? By analyzing structures and processes within the "real world" agriculture, CLIMPLEMENT has aimed to develop and communicate knowledge that promotes successful implementation and diffusion of GHG mitigation measures in Norwegian agriculture. Initially, examining some previously implemented, environmental-related changes in agriculture (as a result of two different environmental actions in Norway) we found that the combination of carrot (awarding), regulatory change and local involvement was necessary to achieve the desired, sustainable changes. Further, statistical analyses were conducted based on a representative survey among Norwegian farmers ("Trends in Norwegian agriculture 2020", 1170 respondents), showing that farmers with a certain level of resources (economic resources; competency/access to knowledge; cultivated land) assess GHG mitigation measures as more relevant than farmers with fewer resources. Another statistics-based sub-study examined the uptake of climate change mitigation measures based on a farm family life-cycle perspective. An important result was that a general pattern of mitigation response in the early stages of the farm family life-cycle declines as farms move into the later stages. Hence, different policy responses are suggested for each of the four stages. One part of the project examined drivers and enablers critical to implementing various climate measures based on interviews with farmers who had succeeded in this respect. An important finding was that it is primarily farm-related benefits of the measures which actually motivate the measure implementation. Additionally, this sub-study demonstrates the significance of several favourable circumstances enabling farmers to make improvements on their farms. Also, discussions with pupils in classes from two different agricultural schools (i.e. including future farmers) pointed in the same direction, when it comes to what counts for farmers’ potential mitigation response. In the project’s study of agricultural advisors’ experiences with promoting climate mitigation at the farm level, we found that advisors in their meetings with farmers emphasize the relationship between climate mitigation measures, emission reductions and farm-related conditions such as agronomy and economy, as they perceive these various benefits as often corresponding and as important to the farmers. This suggests that agronomic and economic aspects of relevant measures should be documented and made more known, not least also in the communication from the national/overarching level. To obtain a greater interest in climate change mitigation measures, the agricultural sector as such should assess the possibility of “selling” these measures the same way as other products on the market, with a focus on the measure’s (the product’s) practical benefits, while additionally informing about the environment and climate benefits. In CLIMPLEMENT, we have also employed an economic model at the farm level, FarmDyn, to assess the economic effect of various climate mitigation measures. The model is German but has been adapted to Norwegian conditions in the project. FarmDyn-analyses (of dairy farms) show high measure costs and large regional variation. According to the model, the agronomic, managerial and technological potential for emission reductions is fully utilized by about 15 per cent emission reduction (corresponding to 3,2-million-ton CO2 equivalents). As such, these results indicate some frames for further work toward obtaining increased emission reductions at the farm level. The most important results from CLIMPLEMENT have, among other ways, been communicated by arranging a hybrid final project conference and composing a short report directed toward actors who, at different levels, work to obtain reduced GHG emissions on Norwegian farms.

Aktører som på ulike nivå og måter jobber med tilrettelegging for økt iverksetting av klimatiltak på gårdsnivå, har utkrystallisert seg som prosjektets primærmålgruppe. Generelt bidrar CLIMPLEMENT til økt forståelse for situasjonen ute på brukene, og med resultater som kan og bør nyttiggjøres i den videre tilretteleggingen for økt iverksetting av klimatiltak. I særlig grad gjelder dette kommunikasjon og ressursbruk på sentralt/overordnet nivå. Bl.a. presenteres funn som peker mot konkrete grep for hvordan man kan få flere bønder interessert i relevante tiltak, så vel som i rådgivningen rundt disse. Prosjektet har også resultat-baserte innspill til hvordan de som utdanner og lærer opp fremtidige bønder best kan kommunisere for å fremme iverksetting av tiltak. Ved hjelp av økonomisk modellering rangeres en rekke ulike klimatiltak fra lavest til høyest kostnad, noe som kan komme både bøndene og rådgivningsapparatet rundt dem til nytte. Hvis identifiserte, sentrale forbedringspunkter fra prosjektet etter hvert følges opp med endrede praksiser og i praktiske løsninger, så forventes økt iverksetting av klimatiltak på norske bruk, med påfølgende reduserte utslipp på bruksnivå. På forskningsfeltet har CLIMPLEMENT bidratt med å gjøre den tyske økonomimodellen FarmDyn (som beregner både utslippsreduksjon og økonomisk effekt av klimatiltak) anvendbar på norske forhold, også for kommende prosjekter. Videre har CLIMPLEMENT bidratt til den eksisterende forskningen med tydelige og viktige funn om hvorfor bønder iverksetter klimatiltak, noe som utfordrer den etablerte forståelsen av at bønders moderate klimaengasjement utgjør en vesentlig barriere for en klimavennlig omstilling på bruksnivå. Prosjektet bidrar også til å informere et bredere lag av befolkingen gjennom å tilby en dypere forståelse for bøndenes situasjon, og for hva som kreves i forbindelse med iverksetting av klimatiltak i landbruket.

The agricultural sector needs to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) as part of the worldwide efforts to mitigate climate changes. Consequently, in Norway, the Government has recently required the agricultural sector to reduce its emissions with 5 million tons of CO2eq over the next decade (2021-2030). So far, in general a lot of possible mitigation measures have been suggested, while little is actually carried through. In order to reduce GHG emissions without serious reductions in food production, farming activities and use of technologies have to be altered in fruitful and implementable ways. By analyzing structures and processes of the practical and real world, CLIMPLEMENT will offer new and important knowledge on how to obtain successful implementation and diffusion of GHG reducing farm management models in Norwegian agriculture. The main purpose of the project is to extend and spread the knowledge about how farmers successfully adopt GHG reducing management models and system factors that affect such changes. The project will also develop analytical tools based on Norwegian conditions to measure GHG reducing potentials in various management settings and consequences for food production and farm incomes. Advisory services and educational institutions play a crucial role in spreading knowledge and good examples among farmers and educate coming farmers. Advisory and educational actors have engaged in the development of the project and will use results from the project to advance the advisory services and educational programs. The project has an explicit plan for disseminating and communicating results from the project, both to partners and other stakeholders, and to academic audiences. The latter aim will be strengthened by the participation of two international scientific organizations in the project, the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Bonn, Germany and Wageningen University, The Netherlands.