H (Hilde) Faber MSc

Nature has always inspired me, which is why I decided to study Biology and later Plant Sciences at Wageningen University. During my time here, I became increasingly interested in agriculture and sustainability. One practice that stood out to me was crop diversification and specifically strip cropping. Strip cropping is an intercropping practice that can offer benefits to both farmers and nature. I appreciate that it is a practice that has low barriers for farmers as the current machinery can still be used. However, transitioning to sustainable agriculture requires changes throughout the entire food chain. That's why I find the CropMix project so intriguing. It brings together different scientific fields and partners from the food chain to develop practical knowledge about making agricultural systems both sustainable and productive.

The production performance of strip cropping in The from science to practice

Strip cropping promises numerous benefits, including stable yields, enhanced pest control, and increased biodiversity. While research on strip cropping in the Netherlands is promising, the link to yield often remains unclear. This PhD research seeks to address this gap.

Initially, the focus will be on yield measurements in two long-term strip cropping experiments, located in the Wageningen and Lelystad. The key questions we aim to answer

1. What is the effect of strip cropping on yield compared to monoculture systems?
2. Does strip cropping produce more stable yields at field and farm level?

Following this, we will compare our experimental results with observations from on-farm strip cropping systems. The 25 arable farmers participating in the CropMix project each implement strip cropping in their own unique way, resulting in diverse systems that vary in among others soil type, crop selection, and management practices. Can we observe similar effects on these farms as seen in our experiments? And if we see different results, what are the underlying reasons?

Lastly, we aim to integrate this research with other projects within CropMix to synthesize our findings. Are the benefits of strip farming cumulative, or are there trade-offs to consider?

This research is part of the CropMix CropMix