The Netherlands
August 1, 2025
The project is based on the idea that preserving flora and fauna within agricultural landscapes is essential, not only for their intrinsic value, but also as a key factor in ensuring the long-term sustainability of production activities. It adopts an interdisciplinary approach that strengthens the connection between science and agriculture.
The world is facing an environmental crisis driven by unsustainable human activities that contribute to biodiversity loss and climate disruptions. These environmental changes have direct economic and social consequences, affecting agricultural production, human health, and overall well-being. In response to this reality, there is a growing global need to adopt more efficient production systems that can deliver high-quality food while simultaneously preserving the environment and biodiversity.
Beeld: ©Mayra Varela for AACREA
In this context, the Inbioagro project was launched in Argentina in May 2021, with the support of the Agricultural Office LAN Cono Sur and led by the Argentine Association of Regional Consortiums for Agricultural Experimentation (AACREA). It’s main goal is to integrate biodiversity conservation as a core objective within agricultural systems. It seeks to develop robust indicators to assess the state of biodiversity and design conservation strategies tailored to different productive systems across Argentina, recognizing the environmental importance of biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides.
The project is currently active in two ecoregions — the Chaco and the Pampas — and has recently begun expanding into the Cuyo region.
Beeld: ©AACREA
To achieve its aims, Inbioagro promotes interdisciplinary collaboration among farmers, agricultural advisors, and biodiversity experts from academic and research institutions, both public and private, as well as civil society organizations (NGOs). All stakeholders are involved in the co-designing of a shared methodology, strengthening the connection between science and production.
Methodological Process
- Awareness workshops with producers in selected ecoregions.
The process begins with a self-assessment, where producers complete a form to provide an initial characterization of their farms. This tool serves as the basis for the interdisciplinary workshops.
- Preparation of diagnostic reports for each ecoregion.
These are developed through interdisciplinary workshops, which serve as participatory spaces for exchange. Producers, advisors, technicians, and biodiversity experts work together to conduct an in-depth diagnosis of each farm and its surrounding environment.
- Development of monitoring protocols for key biological groups.
Specific protocols are designed to monitor different biological groups (e.g. birds, pollinators, soil fauna) in each ecoregion. This stage includes field monitoring and the preparation of a biodiversity baseline report.
- Field monitoring of selected farms.
The protocols are applied on the ground in representative farms within the selected ecoregions to gather concrete biodiversity data.
- Workshops to co-design management strategies that enhance biodiversity.
Based on the monitoring results and interdisciplinary dialogue, management strategies are co-designed to strengthen biodiversity in productive systems within each ecoregion. Improvement strategies focus on two main axes: conservation spaces and management practices.
It is a continuous improvement process, where adaptability plays a key role, and has been one of the main factors behind the project's success. Methodologies and protocols were constantly adjusted to reflect the specific realities of each region, both in terms of implementation timelines and local environmental conditions. This flexibility enabled continuous process improvement and fostered stronger stakeholder involvement.
The initiative is participatory and inter-institutional, involving the research and implementation of management practices at different spatial scales — site, farm, and landscape, aimed at improving or reversing the impacts on biodiversity caused by land use changes.
Impact to date in the two ecoregions
- 355 people have been actively involved in the project, 41% of whom are researchers and biodiversity experts.
- The project has also become a platform for training new generations of researchers, supporting undergraduate theses, specialization projects, as well as doctoral and postdoctoral research.
- Beyond putting numbers to biodiversity, monitoring efforts included birds, mammals, pollinators, vegetation, and soil macro- and mesofauna, among other indicators. These data not only provided solid baselines but also guided the design of management practices aimed at enhancing ecosystem services.
For example, in the Chaco region, 167 bird species were identified, including four classified as threatened. In the Pampas region, over 120,000 individual pollinators were collected, revealing a greater-than-expected level of biological richness. These findings confirm that productive landscapes host a variety of habitats that support diverse species, representing a real opportunity to integrate conservation and production within the same territory.
Beeld: ©AACREA
The Netherlands and AACREA undoubtedly share a common vision: producing food in harmony with nature. Biodiversity is not an external factor, it is an integral part of productive systems, contributing to essential functions such as pest control, pollination, and seed dispersal, among others. For this reason, it is crucial to strengthen both production and nature simultaneously.
We are also convinced that interdisciplinary collaboration, between farmers, local communities, and professionals from diverse fields, together with knowledge exchange between countries, is key to driving innovative, responsible, and future-proof practices.
More information
Would you like to know more about the work done by the LVVN Office in Argentina and the ongoing projects the LAN Cono Sur team is involved in? You can visit the country page of Argentina at the website Agroberichtenbuitenland.nl of the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature. You can also send an email to the LAN team in Buenos Aires: bue-lvvn@minbuza.nl.
Topics
Species
