In the quest for sustainable agriculture, agroecology takes center stage, focusing on nature-inclusive and regenerative systems for food, feed, and renewable energies.

A standout example is the Valu4Farm Project, championed by Maryam Rahimi Jahangirlou, a postdoc at the Department of Agroecology at Aarhus University (AU). Value4Farm, she notes, exemplifies efforts to align agricultural practices with sustainability goals using concepts like agrivoltaics, biogas and biorefinery in AU demonstration site. Recognizing the appeal of new technologies, especially among the youth, Magnus Kamau Katana Lindhardt (a PhD student at the Department of Agroecology) and Maryam discussed both Value4Farm and HyPErfam EU projects on Agrivoltaics and other renewable energy sources presenting a concise poster for AU open house event on Saturday 2 March 2024.

They are foray into the world of agrivoltaics under the supervision of Prof. Uffe Jørgensen as the AU coordinator of Value4Farm, and their goal was to entice prospective students with the interdisciplinary sciences underpinning sustainable agricultural practices. They emphasized the importance of a balanced cycle to boost the circularity of cropping systems, a key aspect of agroecology. Despite inevitable challenges for developing every innovative system, Maryam highlights researchers’ commitment to navigating obstacles, viewing them as stimuli for needs that, in turn, drive demand, fostering a balanced and sustainable agricultural system. As a newcomer to Denmark, Maryam commends the local knowledge of sustainable and carbon-free farming practices during AU open house event.