The PASTO project: an innovative agricultural system of practices for mountain regions

Mountain agriculture faces numerous challenges: diminishing number of farms and of animals, advancing of the forest, search for viable economic alternatives and multiple social demands concerning the maintenance of landscapes, of biodiversity and the offer of local quality products. Within this context, the PASTO project is testing and developing extensive production methods for meat of the Herens cattle breed, This method should both help maintain the landscape and create added value for the local economy. The project can count on an interdisciplinary partnership and has developed an integrated approach allowing to test these practices according to different aspects: agronomic, zoological, economic, environmental and social. With the objective of implementing these practices, different scenarios have been elaborated and then evaluated.