EU Project Shows Climate-Neutral Farming is Achievable Across Europe
A major European research initiative has demonstrated that climate-neutral farming is within reach, with farmers across the continent already cutting emissions, improving soils and strengthening resilience through practical, nature-based solutions.
The three-year ClieNFarms project, funded under the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy, carried out field trials across 20 demonstration sites in countries including Belgium, France, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Romania and the United Kingdom. The results show that greenhouse-gas emissions can be reduced without compromising productivity, while biodiversity, soil health and water retention significantly improve.
Since 2022, Climate KIC has supported the project by linking ClieNFarms with other European initiatives and helping partners share knowledge through communication, dissemination and training.
Among the most notable outcomes, Belgian sugar-beet growers cut nitrogen use by 30–50 per cent using precision fertiliser injection, while Irish dairy farms reduced nitrogen inputs by up to 40 per cent by combining protected-urea fertilisers with white-clover pastures. In Portugal’s Alentejo region, biodiverse strips planted between olive rows reduced erosion and improved rainwater infiltration, making groves more resilient to drought.
“ClieNFarms shows that the solutions for climate-neutral farming already exist – what matters now is connecting them,” said Stelios Dritsas, Project Partner at Climate KIC. “When farmers, scientists and policymakers work together, innovation becomes action and local change adds up to systemic impact.”
At the centre of the project is the Innovative Systemic Solution Space (I3S), a network of ‘living labs’ where farmers, scientists, advisors and businesses co-design solutions that are both scientifically robust and economically viable for real-world use. A Policy Brief released by the project argues that climate neutrality should not be measured solely by emissions, but also by soil health, biodiversity and nutrient cycling.
To help farmers and policymakers scale up successful approaches, the project has developed two flagship resources: a Scaling Toolbox to guide climate-smart agricultural transitions, and a Catalogue of Climate Solutions showcasing tested practices from across Europe.
ClieNFarms also trialled circular approaches that turn agricultural waste into high-value inputs. In the UK, researchers tested an N₂ slurry processor that converts manure into a stable, nutrient-rich fertiliser while trapping nitrogen that would otherwise escape as ammonia or methane.
In Romania, feeding oilseed by-products to small ruminants cut methane emissions by up to 15 per cent and improved milk quality. Meanwhile in France, farms using near-continuous soil cover maintained yields while reducing fertiliser inputs and building soil organic matter.
The project’s findings will be shared at the ClieNFarms Final Conference on 20 November 2025 in Brussels, which will bring together project partners, policymakers and members of the wider farming community to explore pathways for replication, including under the EU Mission for Soil Health.
