Italy
Living Lab profile Type of Living Lab: Seed Lead partner: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the University of Pisa (UNIPI) Climatic zone: Dry mediterranean Type of Agroforestry Systems: Silvoarable, silvopastoral, agrosilvopastoral Type of farming: Organic, agroecological, conventional Main challenges: Biodiversity, soil health, climate change, animal welfare, economic sustainability Context and experience The Living Lab in Italy (ITA LL) thanks to a participatory approach promotes the digitalization of traditional and innovative agroforestry systems among stakeholders, from farm to fork. Based on the development of the EIP-AGRI Operation Group “NEWTON”, co-funded by the Tuscany Region RDP 2014-2020, the ITA LL will be focused on…
Living Lab profile
Type of Living Lab: Seed
Lead partner: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the University of Pisa (UNIPI)
Climatic zone: Dry mediterranean
Type of Agroforestry Systems: Silvoarable, silvopastoral, agrosilvopastoral
Type of farming: Organic, agroecological, conventional
Main challenges: Biodiversity, soil health, climate change, animal welfare, economic sustainability
Context and experience
The Living Lab in Italy (ITA LL) thanks to a participatory approach promotes the digitalization of traditional and innovative agroforestry systems among stakeholders, from farm to fork.
Based on the development of the EIP-AGRI Operation Group “NEWTON”, co-funded by the Tuscany Region RDP 2014-2020, the ITA LL will be focused on the co-design of tools to help the transition towards a more sustainable farming system. An in-depth analysis focus will be carried out on the beef cattle value chain to facilitate the implementation of agroforestry systems for a more sustainable and resilient livestock production system at regional level. More info at gonewton.it
Main activities to date
Since the kick-off of DIGITAF, the Italian Living Lab has actively engaged stakeholders through surveys, co-design sessions, and value chain mapping (2023) to explore strategies for enhancing agroforestry in the Tuscany region. In 2024 and 2025, co-design workshops for tool evaluations and training were held on Cool Farm Tool, Landfiles, and RegenWorks (2024), as well as YieldSAFE, FarmSAFE, INTACT, CARAT, and Farm Carbon Calculator (2025).
The “Enrico Avanzi” Research Center has served as a pilot farm, where two long-term agroforestry field trials were conducted to evaluate innovations in animal feeding (using poplar leaves and stems – AGROFORCES experiment), financial assessments, and carbon balance in agroforestry systems (ARNINO LTE Experiment). Additionally, a novel 9-hectare agroforestry plot was established to promote multi-actor collaboration.
The Living Lab also organized regional roundtables on agroforestry measures within the RDP in 2024 and 2025, fostering valuable dialogue among farmers and advisors.
Next steps and exploitation focus
In the final phase, focus will be on refining digital tools based on user feedback and strengthening regional policy engagement to support the integration of agroforestry into CAP strategies.