Friday 14 November 2025
After three years of field trials across 20 demonstration sites in Europe, the ClieNFarms project has shown that climate-neutral farming is achievable through systemic innovation that works with nature rather than against it.
Since 2022, Climate KIC has played a key role in the project – supporting partners in building connections between ClieNFarms and other EU-funded projects, as well as providing assistance with communication, dissemination, and training.
Funded under the EU's Farm to Fork Strategy, ClieNFarms has tested and scaled practical solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions while improving soil health, biodiversity and water retention across diverse farming systems – from Mediterranean olive groves to Atlantic dairy operations.
The project's results demonstrate significant environmental gains: Belgian sugar-beet growers cut nitrogen use by 30-50% through precision fertiliser injection, while Irish farms achieved nitrogen savings of up to 40% by combining protected-urea fertilisers with white-clover pastures. In Portugal's Alentejo region, biodiverse strips between olive rows have improved rainwater infiltration and reduced erosion, making groves more drought-resistant.
“ClieNFarms shows that the solutions for climate-neutral farming already exist – what matters now is connecting them. When farmers, scientists and policymakers work together, innovation becomes action and local change adds up to systemic impact,” said Stelios Dritsas, project partner at Climate KIC.
Bridging innovation and implementation
At the core of ClieNFarms is the Innovative Systemic Solution Space (I3S), a network of ‘living labs’ where farmers, researchers, advisers and businesses collaborate to develop solutions tailored to local conditions. This approach ensures innovations are both scientifically sound and economically viable for real-world adoption.
Climate neutrality in agriculture cannot be defined solely by greenhouse-gas reductions, the project's first Policy Brief argues. "True neutrality depends equally on soil health, biodiversity, water and nutrient cycles."
The project has produced two key resources for scaling these innovations: a Scaling Toolbox that helps stakeholders design context-appropriate transitions, and a Catalogue of Climate Solutions featuring tested practices from across Europe.
Circular solutions
Among the project's innovations are circular approaches to waste streams. UK researchers tested an N₂ slurry processor that converts animal manure into stable, nutrient-rich fertiliser while trapping nitrogen that would otherwise escape as ammonia or methane. In Romania, trials showed that oilseed byproducts can reduce methane emissions from small ruminants by up to 15% while improving milk quality.
French farms experimenting with near-permanent soil cover between crops have demonstrated that low-input farming can maintain efficiency while cutting fertiliser use and building soil organic matter.
Looking ahead
The ClieNFarms Final Conference on 20 November 2025 in Brussels will bring together the project's partners and wider farming community to share findings and explore pathways for replication under initiatives including the EU Mission for Soil Health.