PRESS RELEASE
Towards the End of Treeless Agriculture – European Agroforestry Conference EURAF2026
The European agroforestry community is gathering in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, from 22–26 June, to break down the silos between agriculture and forestry by promoting the planting of more trees in European fields and farms.
Hosted at the heart of Europe by the University of Neuchâtel, Verein Agroforst Schweiz, Association Suisse d’Agroforesterie, CEDD-Agro-Eco-Clim, Agroscope, Agridea, and EURAF, this year’s conference brings together 400+ farmers, scientists, and policymakers to exchange and advance agroforestry research and shape the policy agenda, with farm visits offering a direct taste of Swiss agroforestry in practice.
EURAF2026 organising team, consisting of Sonja Kay (Agroscope), Jérémie Forney (University of Neuchâtel), and Felix Herzog (Swiss Agroforestry Association), said:
“Our ambition is two-fold: accelerate agroforestry adoption in Switzerland, and help drive a European strategy that makes treeless agriculture a thing of the past. The direction of European agriculture — its practices, research, and policy — inevitably shapes our own farming landscape, and this conference is our opportunity to help steer it.”
Alongside the conference, EURAF will hold its annual General Assembly and elect a new board to lead the federation through the next two years — a key moment for the organisation and the wider European agroforestry community.
Agroforestry — the integration of trees and shrubs into farming systems — has been gaining momentum across Europe in recent years and is now widely recognised as a leading tool for climate mitigation and adaptation, nature restoration, and farm sustainability
Photo author Maja Lindström Kling. Rotverket AB
Bohdan Lojka, President of EURAF, said:
“Trees have always been part of European farming — we just forgot. At EURAF, we’re bringing them back to our fields. As a small agroforestry farmer myself, I see daily how trees rebuild soils, restore biodiversity, and make farms more resilient and profitable for the long haul. Moreover, they are simply beautiful.”
Agroforestry has steadily gained ground in EU policy — from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to the Nature Restoration Regulation and the Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming regulation. Now, as negotiations for the post-2028 CAP begin, EURAF believes agroforestry is poised to move from the margins to the centre of European agricultural policy.
Manuel Bertomeu García, Secretary of EURAF, said:
“An EU Agroforestry Strategy, co-created with the European Commission and the European agroforestry community, is long overdue. Just as the EU Biodiversity, Forest, and Organic Action strategies brought coherence to their fields, such an initiative could finally help farmers and rural communities bring more trees and woody vegetation back into Europe’s agricultural landscapes.”
Photo author Maja Lindström Kling. Rotverket AB
