WEAVING FOR A THRIVING PLANET 39 System Change FFN wants to change the system to conserve EU farmland biodiversity to a system where farmers are rewarded when they deliver defined environmental outcomes. The Irish Government currently funds the FFN Ambassador programme which celebrates those farmers who deliver for nature and shares their stories. The Government have also funded a number of successful ‘locally-led’ projects across Ireland where farmers and other stakeholders work together to preserve threatened habitats and species. Increasingly, these targeted, farmer-centered schemes with their result-based payments are being supported by the European Commission under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) as a result of the work of FFN and other organisations. Frame Change: Mindset Shift Focus FFN Ambassadors have helped to create a real mindset shift in terms of how farmers view themselves and how the public views them. They have helped redefine the farmer’s role and identity as not just one of ‘food producers’ but a richer, broader identity as an ecosystem service provider, producing great food from a healthy environment. Community-based Approach FFN sees farmers as the ‘first responders’ to our climate and biodiversity crisis. Targeting ‘high nature value’ (HNV) farmland across Europe, FFN seeks to recognize the positive role that farming communities can play in sustaining biodiverse ecosystems and offsetting climate change’s impact on these areas. FFN puts farming communities at the center of the solution, supported by targeted policies, research, and resources. FFN operates jointly with several Irish projects, most notably the Burren Programme in western Ireland, in which the farmer-centered approach to conservation is performed. Scaling & Replication Scaling & Replication Strategy: FFN is scaling up by working with partners across the EU to introduce a FFN Ambassador program. Additionally, it continues to advocate for Agri-environment policy change at the EU and the national level. Lastly, FFN works with researchers across Europe to develop locally-targeted, farmer-centered agrienvironmental programs, thus reaching a larger audience and community worldwide. Scaling & Replication History: FFN is currently ‘directly’ active within Ireland and ‘indirectly’ (through a range of networks) at the EU level. Scaling Interest: FFN is interested in scaling up to the EU level. In the short term this entails creating an EU network of FFN Ambassadors with preliminary discussions already underway with three EU countries. Scaling & Replication Needs: To scale up or in case of replication, FFN is looking for additional funding, communication and business planning support. Challenges FFN faces 3 main challenges: 1. Finding the time to manage a wide range of projects across a number of countries. Working with farmers at a local level while also engaging with national and international partners, including Government Ministries, is a continuous challenge. 2. The sourcing of reliable, long-term funding streams, enabling the development and implementation of a strategy in the long run. 3. Meeting and networking with new partners is challenged by the current pandemic, ultimately putting pressure on the available resources.
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