Agroecology, the driving force of the present and future for Campus Terra

How many times a day do you use a device to get directions from one point to another? You probably grab your phone and open a maps app to know how to get home and, on your way there, think about what you are going to cook for dinner in order to end the evening with a delicious dish on the table… The same is true for Campus Terra, and its final destination is a sustainable future in which organic farming is at the centre.

In this case, the journey is a little complex and has its challenges, which were addressed during the meeting that took place at the Centre for European Studies and Documentation of the USC. It was attended by teachers Carlos Teijo and Rosa Mosquera, professor of the Department of Plant Production and Engineering Projects at the Lugo Campus, as well as by the Principal Adviser of the Deputy Director-General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission, Diego Canga.

The purpose of the event was to pass on to European institutions the needs of producers so that their demands can be incorporated into future EU regulations. Some of the issues raised were related to mobile slaughterhouses, the inclusion of bush areas as eligible for direct payments under the Common Agricultural Policy or the need for more funding to transition from conventional farms to organic production.

In addition, this forum, framed within the Conference on the Future of Europe (COFE), brought together 30 people representing the productive sector. These include the Regulatory Council of Organic Agriculture of Galicia, Asoporcel and the A Carqueixa cooperative.

From planning to action.

As part of this journey towards a sustainable future, Campus Terra is moving in the right direction through the implementation of practices like controlled or prescribed burning and guided grazing.

In fact, the Sistemas Silvopastorais group of the School of Engineering promoted the removal of underbrush and preservation of the variety of natural habitats on mountainous areas in the town of Piornedo. The event took place as part of the workshop in which they presented the results of the different actions implemented in this natural space —included in the Natura 2000 network— under the auspices of the European project Open2preserve, coordinated at the USC by Rosa Mosquera.

Thanks to the intervention of the research group, the USC has just signed an agreement with the town of Burela, on the coast of Lugo, to develop an action plan focussing on environmental actions, environmental preservation and the enhancement of natural resources in the context of the European Green Deal.

These two activities and the event on organic farming are both examples of how Campus Terra is contributing towards a more sustainable future. Tanto estas dúas actividades como a sesión sobre agricultura ecolóxica poñen de manifesto o bo labor a prol da sostibilidade que leva como selo o Campus Terra.