The project addresses the question of how sustainable and economically viable agricultural and food systems can be created to ensure sufficient and healthy nutrition while protecting people, animals, ecosystems, and the climate. Over 70 researchers are addressing this question in a five-year project led by the University of Göttingen. The federal state of Lower Saxony is funding the project with almost €25 million from the Zukunft.Niedersachsen funding programme, a joint science funding programme with the Volkswagen Foundation.
The project's goal is to actively shape the transformation of the agricultural and food industry in Lower Saxony. In four agri:labs, transdisciplinary teams are developing practical solutions and concepts – for instance, to assess sustainability throughout the entire value chain, or to identify social trends that can drive change. Other focal points include cycle-oriented resource use, improved animal welfare and generating new sources of income through innovative business models.
At the Institute of Environmental Planning, Prof. Dr. Christian Albert and Dr. Daniela Kempa are co-directing agri:labX4, which is researching socio-ecological transformation processes in intensively and extensively used agricultural and peatland landscapes in Lower Saxony. The project aims to provide new impetus for sustainable landscape development through transdisciplinary collaboration between researchers and stakeholders in real-world laboratories. The focus is on joint learning processes and the development of transformation knowledge.
The agri:change network includes the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, and the universities in Vechta, Lüneburg and Braunschweig. It also includes non-university research institutions, such as the German Institute of Food Technology, the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research and the Thünen Institute.
Contact at the Institute of Environmental Planning: Dr. Daniela Kempa, kempa(at)umwelt.uni-hannover.de
