The development of agroforestry systems in Flanders

In this chapter we introduce AF as a traditional farming system that has been reinvented. We elaborate on how AF systems contribute to addressing challenges in modern agriculture, how AF can be interpreted as a transformative solution, and how AF systems in Europe are currently supported through the Common Agricultural Policy. Afterwards we zoom in on AF adoption and development in Flanders, which is the case study this thesis focuses on. We conclude with the general objective of this thesis, which is to gain a better understanding of the current implementation gap with respect to AF by investigating AF adoption and development making use of a farming systems research approach. This overall objective is translated into four research questions, which are answered in the course of this thesis.