Discovering agroecological farms in Belgium with Agroecology Europe & Terraé
On 13 May 2025, Agroecology Europe and the Belgian agroecology platform Terraé organised a 1-day visit at three agroecological farms in Wallonia, Belgium, to showcase concrete agroecological initiatives on the ground. The event connected them with the European Commission’s policy work on environmental, agricultural and food systems.
These three farms – La Ferme du Champ des Noces, La Ferme de Corioule, and La Préale – are implementing agroecology in ways that provide the local population with healthy, seasonal and local food, while promoting rural resilience through local employment, biodiversity conservation and restoration, environmental stewardship and community reinforcement.
The visit brought together a mixed group of 24 participants, including farm advisors, civil society organisations, and policy makers from the European Commission Directorates-General (DGs) DG AGRI, DG ENV, DG SANTE, and DG INTPA. The day was a unique opportunity to learn from the ground and reflect on the alignment between agroecology and the EU agri-food and environmental policies.
Three great examples of agroecology in practice
Terraé is a Walloon agroecological transition plan initiated in 2022, comprising eight interconnected actions under the coordination of the SPW Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Environment.
During the first farm visit, at the bakery farm La Ferme du Champ des Noces, Terraé presented their work with farmers in the Walloon region. These actions include, among others, the creation of a farm network. The network involves 40 volunteer farms across Wallonia and serves as a foundation for the Terraé platform, aimed at disseminating agroecological practices and research findings.
At La Ferme du Champ des Noces, located in Hamois, participants got a taste of the delicious goods that the farm produces during an agroecological breakfast.
The farm produces a variety of flours and sourdough breads, all milled on-site, and sells pastries and sweets, reaching their local customers through direct sales. The visit at the on-site bakery and mill was a special occasion to witness the wonders of a multifunctional, closed-cycle farm. Since 2019, this farm has established a 3-meterwide grassy strip approximately every 60 meters across the width of the field to promote the fauna and flora of our countryside
La Ferme de Corioule, situated in Assesse, owns a stone mill to process its grains into flour for bread production. The farm
collaborates with local bakers, and offers meat boxes directly to consumers, promoting food sovereignty in the Walloon region. Since 2013, La Ferme de Corioule has been organically certified and mixes livestock farming (chicken and cows) with crop farming and grassland management. As a result, part of the land is dedicated to animal feed, whereas the livestock manure is used as organic fertilizer for the soil.
La Préale, also located in Hamois, features a permaculture-based vegetable garden, a seed production station (Anthesis), a bakery (Le Fournil de la Préale), and offers educational workshops and events on the farm. By creating local jobs opportunities and fostering community ties, farms like La Préale show that farming agroecologically can be also a viable pathway for the development and resilience of European rural areas.
The farm, managed by Agroecology Europe Board member Olivier Lefebvre, hosted the group of participants for an agroecological, seasonal buffet lunch with great food produced with its own ingredients and baked in its on-farm bakery. A day to remember, where flavors told stories and sights inspired thought, fostering connections between people, places, and EU policymaking through a unique combination of expertise, practices, and shared knowledge.
agroecology fosters social, environmental and economic sustainability
Besides working in harmony with the environment and striving to restore nature, the three farms are also very active in promoting other agroecology principles, such as economic diversification, social values and nutrition, participation, and co-creation.
Agroecology Europe thanks the farmers, their collaborators and Terraé for dedicating some of their time and work to these invaluable exchanges.
We invite you to check out the great work performed by these farms, who are leading the way towards an agroecological region, and to an agroecological Europe rooted in solidarity, community, environmental protection and food sovereignty.
