Navarra 360º: proving resilient agriculture starts with the whole landscape

For cereal farmer Alberto Alfaro, changing the way he farms was never simply about trying a new technique. It was about preparing his land for an increasingly uncertain future.

His experience reflects a challenge shared by farmers across Europe. Longer periods of drought, declining soil health and rising production costs are making it harder to maintain productive and profitable farms. At the same time, agriculture must continue producing enough food while reducing its impact on the environment.

In Navarra, northern Spain, those challenges are being tackled together rather than field by field.

Navarra 360º is demonstrating that resilient agriculture works best when everyone involved in the food system contributes to the transition.

Instead of asking individual farmers to navigate change alone, the initiative brings together growers, cooperatives, researchers, food companies and public institutions to improve soil health across an entire landscape.

The approach recognises that healthier soils benefit far more than individual farms. They strengthen supply chains, improve water retention, support biodiversity and help communities adapt to increasingly unpredictable weather.

The need for this transition is becoming more urgent. According to the FAO State of Food and Agriculture 2025, around 1.7 billion people already live in areas where land degradation is reducing agricultural productivity. The report also estimates that restoring just 10% of degraded cropland could produce enough additional food to feed around 154 million people every year (1).

Navarra 360º shows what that transition can look like in practice.

Since launching in 2024, the initiative has grown into one of Spain's most ambitious landscape-scale resilient agriculture programmes.

Thirty-eight farmers are now participating, with more than 5,000 hectares entering transition through personalised farm plans tailored to individual soils, crops and business needs.

Scientific measurement sits at the heart of every decision.

More than 700 soil analyses, collected from over 200 sampling locations, have created one of the region's most comprehensive baselines for soil fertility, carbon storage and soil biology. Rather than relying on assumptions, farmers receive practical recommendations supported by field data.

Throughout 2025, participants also received technical training alongside hundreds of hours of one-to-one advisory support, helping them introduce new practices with confidence.

The programme's collaborative approach has attracted wider recognition. Navarra 360º received a Peterson Sustainability Award in 2025 and was recognised by the Instituto Cerdà in 2026 as one of Spain's 20 leading innovations in the consumer goods sector.

Improving soil health is often discussed as a long-term environmental goal. Navarra 360º demonstrates that it can also deliver practical business benefits today.

During 2025, the project showed that farmers can maintain good crop yields while using fewer inputs and reducing their environmental impact. In wheat and barley, the use of mineral fertilisers was cut by almost half (45–47%) for nitrogen, by around two-thirds (63–75%) for phosphorus and by up to three-quarters (30–75%) for potassium. The use of pesticides was also reduced by up to 44% in barley and 25% in wheat, while greenhouse gas emissions from cereal production fell by almost 50% per tonne of grain produced.

These improvements help lower production costs while reducing environmental impact, showing that resilient agriculture can strengthen both farm businesses and natural resources.

Navarra 360º forms part of EIT Food's Resilient Agriculture Portfolio, which supports the transition to resilient agriculture through collaboration across the food system.

Working alongside partners including Danone Ecosystem, Alpro, Cargill and Intermalta, EIT Food helps connect farmers, researchers, businesses and public institutions around shared objectives.

Rather than promoting a single farming model, the programme provides farmers with personalised transition plans, technical advice, practical training and financial incentives suited to their own farms and local conditions.

• Resilient agriculture cannot rely on farmers alone.
• Food companies gain more resilient supply chains built on measurable improvements.
• Researchers generate evidence that helps refine farming practices.
• Policymakers gain practical examples that can inform future agricultural policy.
• Farmers receive the technical guidance, financial incentives and peer support needed to make lasting changes with confidence.
• Each part of the system benefits because every part contributes.

The significance of Navarra 360º extends beyond northern Spain.

It demonstrates that resilient agriculture can move beyond isolated pilot projects and become a coordinated, landscape-scale approach that supports both farmers and the wider food system.

The experience gained in Navarra is already informing Lower Silesia 360º in Poland, where resilient farming practices are expected to reach more than 20,000 hectares and 200 farmers.

Each landscape will be different, but the principle remains the same: lasting change happens when farmers, businesses, researchers and public institutions work towards shared outcomes supported by evidence.

1. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2025). The state of food and agriculture 2025: Addressing land degradation across landholding scales. FAO. https://openknowledge.fao.org/items/6dfa0079-e156-47a2-9089-0274119e9cb7