AGRI4POL

Promoting sustainable agriculture for pollinators

Threats to pollinators and the pollination services they provide are a global concern. AGRI4POL aims to support agriculture in transforming from a source of pressure on pollinators into a positive force for their conservation and promotion. The project seeks to strengthen both pollinator biodiversity and pollination services in agricultural ecosystems, along with the associated benefits for people and the environment.

The project is coordinated by Dr. Adam Vanbergen from INRAE (French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment), who carries out the project together with 22 partner institutions from a total of 14 countries.

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Objectives and methodology

To enable the transition to more pollinator-friendly farming systems and value chains, AGRI4POL promotes a deeper scientific understanding of the relationships between crops, agricultural systems and pollinators – from the plant level to the agroecosystem level.

From the start, AGRI4POL’s research has been accompanied by close and continuous involvement of relevant stakeholders along the agricultural and food chain. This ensures that our solutions are practical, socially acceptable and politically feasible. This multi-actor approach also allows us to identify socio-economic and political barriers as well as opportunities for implementing pollinator-friendly agriculture at local, national, European and international levels.

Work packages

WP1: Multi-actor co-design of research and end-user options for promoting pollinator-friendly farming

WP1 connects scientists, policymakers, industry & NGO experts, and farming organisations to develop farming practices that support pollinators. It focuses on identifying pollinator-friendly crops and management practices that farmers can adopt, understanding their social, economic, and environmental benefits and trade-offs, and improving methods to monitor crop-pollinator interactions.

WP1 also looks ahead, exploring potential challenges and opportunities to ensure pollinator-friendly farming remains viable in the long term.

Lead: University Freiburg

WP2: Genetics of crop floral traits governing pollinator attraction: future pollinator-smart crops

WP2 aims to show how integrating insect pollination traits into crop breeding approaches can identify potential “pollinator-smart” varieties of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) and faba bean (Vicia faba) for pollinator-friendly farming.

To achieve this, WP2 will study and characterise pollinator visitation, the genetics of pollinator attraction, and screen crop genomes to identify pollination syndromes of crops to inform variety development. WP2 also explores trade-offs and synergies between breeding for pollination and other desired crop traits, ensuring crops remain both productive and pollinator-friendly.

Lead WP2: INRAE (National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment)

WP3: Management options to enhance pollinator benefits on farms

WP3 aims to deepen our understanding of strategies to maximise the benefits of pollinators in pollinator-friendly farming systems. It examines how crop diversification (species, genotypes and varieties), farm management (e.g. rotations), and the environment interact to shape insect pollination services and crop performance. Additionally, it investigates crop-pollinator trait matching and develops predictive models to assess pollination dynamics under changing cropping systems, landscapes, and climate conditions.

Lead WP3: University Wageningen

WP4: Multifunctional ecological infrastructure (EI) for pollinators and co-benefits from field to landscape scales

WP4 identifies the optimal ecological infrastructure (semi-natural areas) to support pollinator diversity and crop visitation, ensuring these benefits extend from farm to landscape levels. It examines how non-crop plants (e.g. weeds, sown wildflowers) influence insect pollination, assesses the co-benefits of pollinator-friendly farming for wider biodiversity and ecosystem services, and explores how different management and land use strategies shape pollinator activity and crop visitation across landscapes.

Lead WP4: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research

WP6: Policy and practitioner engagement for uptake of pollinator-friendly farming

WP6 aims to raise awareness of the benefits of pollinator-friendly farming and promote its adoption by strengthening policy and practitioner networks from local to international levels. It assesses the policy landscape to identify opportunities for integrating AGRI4POL results into European and international policies while addressing potential barriers. Additionally, WP6 develops education and communication tools to support knowledge sharing among farmers, industry, and policymakers and coordinates engagement with the Stakeholder Advisory Board (SAB) to ensure effective project implementation.

Lead WP6: University of Reading

WP7: Communication, dissemination, exploitation and synergies with other projects

WP7 plays a cross-cutting role, supporting the project in communication, dissemination, and exploitation activities while promoting Open Science and fostering collaboration with other projects. It ensures a distinct project identity, develops a plan for research dissemination, and communication while maximising the reach and impact of AGRI4POL results. Additionally, WP7 facilitates data management, internal communication, and knowledge exchange to ensure long-term accessibility and uptake of project outcomes.

Lead WP7: Pensoft Publishers

WP8: Scientific coordination and project management

WP8 is responsible for the overall project coordination with INRAE as coordinator (supported by its subsidiary INRAE Transfert) managing all commitments under the EC Grant Agreement. WP8 provides strategic oversight, ensuring the project meets its objectives, its contractual obligations to the EC (reporting, engagement) and manages the consortium and project implementation.

Lead WP8: INRAE (National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment)

AGRI4POL highlights the importance of pollinator-friendly agriculture for food security and sustainability – for farmers, the agricultural and food industry, policymakers and society as a whole.

The team at the Chair of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology is responsible for Work Package 1, “Multi-stakeholder co-design of research and end-user options for promoting pollinator-friendly agriculture.”

Contact person

Portrait von Henning Nottebrock mit einer Pflanze im Hintergrund

Dr. Henning Nottebrock

Project staff

henning.nottebrock@nature.uni-freiburg.de
+49 (0) 761 203-3636

Project data

Project coordinator	Dr. Adam Vanbergen (INRAE)
Project members at the University of Freiburg	Prof. Dr. Alexandra-Maria Klein Dr. Henning Nottebrock
Duration	01/2025 – 12/2028
Funding	Horizon Europe programme of the European Union, project number 101181146
Partners	INRAE – Institut national de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement INRAE Transfert SAS Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research University of Reading Wageningen University Stichting Wageningen Research Lund University Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) Pensoft Publishers CzechGlobe University of Mons University of Ljubljana University of Padua WCMC Associacio Paisatges Vius Maisadour Semences Romania Cia Agricoltori italiani Padova Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research AGRIDEA
Website	https://agri4pol.eu/

AGRI4POL receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No 101181146 and The State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI). Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union (EU), the European Research Executive Agency (REA), or the SERI.