Project

Global Network of Lighthouse Farms 

The Global Network of Lighthouse Farms brings together exemplary farms and foodscapes from around the world that have found radical solutions to address the sustainability challenges we currently face.

These lighthouse farms are existing, commercially viable farms in the real world; they are positive deviants and are “already in 2050” in terms of providing sustainably produced food and ecosystem services. This outdoor laboratory aims to distill insights from these exemplary farms and foodscapes to advance our scientific understanding of the principles and practices of sustainable production in contrasting environments.

Global agriculture finds itself at historic cross-roads: while population growth and rising affluence are leading to an increasing demand for food, agriculture is using land, energy and resources at rates that exceed the planetary boundaries and can thus not be sustained indefinitely. Notwithstanding recent efforts to incrementally improve the sustainability of our food, more radical changes are now required if we are to deliver on the many Sustainable Development Goals. 

Through our research, we focus on harvesting the mosaic of solutions and innovations that already exist on the ground. Our mission is to use the Global Network of Lighthouse Farms to gain insights on the multiple pathways of transition towards a more sustainable state. The network functions as an outdoor classroom and laboratory, from which staff and students (PhD and MSc) can learn from and exchange with the lighthouse farmers. We also use the network as a platform of inter- and trans-disciplinary collaboration with researchers from different chair groups across WUR, and a diversity of stakeholders across the agri-food system. We work together through a diversity of projects and partners from around the world, including 

  • European Climate Farm Demo (2022-2029) 
  • European Soil Health Benchmarks (2022-2027) 
  • Ethiopian Brightspots in Ethiopian Agroecosystems (2021-2025) 
  • Connecting Cuban Farmers to the Lighthouse Network (2020-2023) 
  • Brazilian Coexistent of Agriculture and Nature: Optimization and Planning for Integrated Ecosystem Services (CANOPIES) (2019-2023) 
  • European HeartLand (2019-2023) 

To explore more on our Lighthouse Farms, current and past projects, publications in scientific journals and popular media, and our team, please visit Global Network of Lighthouse Farms.