Project Ground2Live addresses the groundcover use in vegetable farms

Ground2Live is a new project launched this year that focuses on advancing agroecological practices for integrating cover crops into vegetable farming. The project is built around Living Labs in seven EU countries, bringing together farmers, advisors, researchers and other stakeholders to co-create and test practical solutions.

Photo author: Pixabay

During the project, Living Labs will be established in seven EU countries. The aim of these Living Labs is to bring together representatives of various stakeholder groups involved in vegetable production to co-create, test and evaluate new solutions for groundcover in vegetable farms. The project aims to assess which practices could be suitable for Estonian vegetable growers, which agroecological approaches could enhance biodiversity, nutrient and water use efficiency, and what the environmental and socio-economic impacts of these practices might be, including their economic profitability for producers.

On December 3rd, the first meeting of the Estonian Living Lab took place, where the project and Living Lab approach were introduced, and stakeholders worked together on identifying the key problems and their needs related to cover crops. In addition, lecturer Priit Põldma presented innovative solutions for open-field vegetable production.

The project will proceed in 2026 with field trials, a field day and with further Living Lab meetings.

Project Ground2Live – Enhancing Ground Cover on Vegetable Farms: Living Labs for Resource Conservation and Economic Sustainability in Agroecological System is funded by the Estonian Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, with the co-funding of European Union under the Agroecology Partnership. More info on the project: https://www.agroecologypartnership.eu/ground2livelink opens in new page