Barriers and Levers to Developing Wheat–Pea Intercropping in Europe: A Review

Abstract

Beyond the ecosystem benefits of diversification through wheat–pea intercropping, this review analyzes the barriers and levers to its adoption and diffusion. The present review shows that structuring the value chain around the products of this innovative cropping system faces a set of technical (i.e., varietal selection, phytosanitary issue control, crop management sequence, collection management, and storage), economic (i.e., cost, price, market opportunities, and contracting), and public policy (i.e., subsidies for ecosystem services provided by intercropping) obstacles that contribute to its slow adoption and dissemination in Europe. However, the value chain resulting from the wheat–pea intercropping system has levers to be exploited at all levels, particularly in terms of its competitive advantages, ecosystem benefits, and superior product quality. The results of this review help to identify priorities that actors of the value chain can address to better focus their efforts on significant problems and solutions that can accelerate the adoption and dissemination of this agroecological system.

Intercropping—A Low Input Agricultural Strategy for Food and Environmental Security

“…Under diverse conditions, farmers adopt different intercropping practices and thus the intercropping system itself becomes complex [52]. There is no doubt that the management of the intercropping system is difficult in terms of requirements of more human labour.…”

Will Farmers Accept Lower Gross Margins for the Sustainable Cultivation Method of Mixed Cropping? First Insights from Germany

“…One possibility to (re)introduce more legumes into crop rotations and promote sustainable intensification is mixed cropping [13,14]. Mixed cropping, also known as the cultivation of mixed stands or intercropping, is by definition the simultaneous production of two or more coexisting crops on the same area of land [15].…”

“…However, the adoption of mixed cropping with main crops (e.g., wheat and faba bean, oat and pea) is especially associated with a number of challenges for European farmers that have been recognized and discussed [14,17,18,20]. In a recent review, Mamine and Farés [14] provide a detailed overview of barriers and levers associated with the mixed cropping of wheat and peas in Europe. Their review highlights the challenges along the value chain for such a specialized production method.…”

“…To the best of our knowledge no study to date focuses on the profitability dimension of mixed cropping from a farmer's point of view. Still, there is consensus in the literature that adoption across Europe could be facilitated by the implementation of an environmental scheme [14,17,21] and that a lack of research related to the economic efficiency in high-input agricultural systems persists [13,22]. If a shift within the conventional agriculture sector towards the extensive and more sustainable cultivation of mixed stands should be achieved, the assessment of farmers' willingness to accept (WTA) profitability changes is imperative.…”

“…If a shift within the conventional agriculture sector towards the extensive and more sustainable cultivation of mixed stands should be achieved, the assessment of farmers' willingness to accept (WTA) profitability changes is imperative. Especially considering the many associated challenges that have been identified, like technical barriers and difficulties in crop protection [14,18], the adoption of mixed cropping is also associated with a higher risk from the farmers' perspective. Assessing farmers' WTA profitability changes is consequently the first step to evaluate to what extent financial incentives are necessary to facilitate widespread adoption.…”