The SAFER project will address these challenges and knowledge gaps by mobilising a European network of 6 Living Labs distributed across contrasting regions and social-ecological systems, in a multidisciplinary action research approach. We will specifically: (i) co-design best-suited agroecological practices adapted to local social-ecological conditions through a participatory approach that actively involves stakeholders in each Living Lab; (ii) quantify the multiple agronomical, environmental and socio-economic benefits and risks of scaling up these agroecological practices from the field to the landscape scale using a similar landscape-scale design across Living Labs; (iii) forecast the whole-system consequences of various landscape-scale strategies of deployment for farmers and local stakeholders; (iv) identify how local policies, stakeholder demands and the Living Lab methodology can enhance or limit the expansion of agroecological practices at the landscape level.

SAFER will produce: (i) innovative agroecological practices co-designed with end-users, adapted to local contexts and readily implementable; (ii) quantitative estimates and indicators of how the adoption of these practices at the landscape scale impact social-ecological-system functioning highlighting major synergies and trade-offs between multiple private and public goods; and (iii) landscape management strategies that explore the multifunctional consequences of various transition pathways (i.e., scenarios) in each Living Lab. Our project, relying on a multidisciplinary consortium with significant experience in evaluating the multidimensional consequences of agroecology across scales, should provide major insights for local stakeholders and decision-makers by anticipating the multifunctional consequences of large-scale adoption of agroecological farming. An active engagement of local stakeholders through Living Labs combined to a multiscale strategy for communication and dissemination of SAFERs' outputs towards key audience groups will ultimately contribute to strengthening the deployment of agroecology across Europe.