Rveerkrachtig Igeïntegreerd Ssystemen
voor Eecosysteemherstel
Modern farming has achieved remarkable gains in productivity, helping to feed a growing population. At the same time, agriculture faces a new challenge: protecting and restoring the natural systems that food production depends on. Issues such as declining biodiversity, water pollution, and habitat loss threaten the long-term resilience of farming and the wider food system.
Unlocking the Power of Nature
Fortunately, nature can be part of the solution. Healthy ecosystems provide valuable services such as pollination, natural pest control, fertile soils, and clean water. By integrating these benefits into farming practices, agriculture can become more productive, resilient, and sustainable.
Bridging the Gap Between Ambition and Action
Many farmers are eager to contribute to this transition, but important barriers remain. Decisions often need to balance economic realities with environmental ambitions. Existing tools for measuring biodiversity are not always practical or connected to farm management, and the benefits of investing in nature are often shared across society while the costs are borne by farmers. As a result, opportunities to scale up nature-inclusive farming are frequently missed.
Creating lasting change requires looking beyond individual farms and take a systems perspective. Agricultural systems are shaped by a wide range of factors, including local landscapes, neighbouring stakeholders, value chains, financial incentives, and public policy. Understanding these connections is essential for designing effective and practical solutions.
Turning Complexity into Opportunity
RISE brings together farmers, researchers, businesses, and policymakers to develop practical pathways towards nature-inclusive agriculture. The project focuses on four key challenges:
- Understanding agricultural systems as a whole
- Improving the usability of biodiversity indicators
- Learning how biodiversity functions across landscapes
- Developing and validating decision-support frameworks
Through collaborative pilot projects in Reusel-Zuid en Oostland Zuid-Holland, RISE will test innovative approaches that combine biodiversity monitoring, stakeholder collaboration, and value chain innovation.
From Knowledge to Impact
RISE will deliver an interactive decision-support framework that helps stakeholders identify and implement strategies that benefit both nature and farming businesses. An open-source platform and replication framework, tested in a third region, will enable other areas to adopt and adapt the RISE approach.
By growing food and nature together, RISE aims to contribute to a future where farmers, businesses, communities, and nature strengthen one another for generations to come.