Even if at its first steps, the objective of the project is clear, and extremely relevant: to implement a package of new contractual frameworks able to conciliate farmers’ benefits and environmental public goods. For this reason, both academic and professional organizations are involved in the consortium. Academic partners come from different scientific fields (law, economy, ecology, political science, agricultural science): such multidisciplinary approaches is not frequent, but the willingness to put together expertise from different disciplines represents an added value of EFFECT.
The same plurality is reflected in the variety of local farmers and local stakeholders involved, and also in the broad spectrum of topics covered by the 9 case studies that will empirically test the contract frameworks. The EFFECT innovation cases, in fact, vary according to the type of public goods targeted (biodiversity, climate, water, and so on), the type of farming activities (arable and livestock, in extensive and intensive systems), the broader ecological, socio-economic, legal and historical context.
The theoretical frameworks as well as the empirical tests will be developed in the following years. During the kick-off, all the 19 partners of the consortium were represented: that was the occasion to better arrange the details of a very promising project, that is particularly relevant in the current panorama characterized by fundamental environmental and climate challenges. EFFECT promises to provide answers to such issues, also putting at the centre the active role of local farmers. All the future developments of the project can be followed on its website (http://project-effect.eu/), and in the next months also on the social media channels.
