Biodiversity Framework for Agricultural Transition – Key methodological principles

Although the environmental impacts of agricultural commodities are already widely calculated, current assessments rarely differentiate between farming practices, despite scientific evidence showing that several practices have positive ecological outcomes. There is a dual need for improved modelling of existing standardized indicators to document agroecological practices fairly, and for additional indicator(s) to characterize the ecological quality of agrosystems considering the practices implemented.

The overarching goal of BFAT is to enable economic actors to demonstrate the potentially reduced environmental impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity resulting from the agroecological practices implemented in their operations and/or supported in their supply chain. This means:

• Improving & spreading knowledge on agroecological practices, while considering the balance between yields, extensification, pressure reduction and potential gains in biodiversity;
• Developing methodological approaches to quantify the effects of best practices across the value chain on diverse environmental flows;
• Providing new impact factors and state of nature indicators adapted to low- and positive-impact practices, using various existing environmental metrics.

The results of BFAT are intended as indicators for piloting the agroecological transition. Therefore, BFAT may also be of interest to public authorities looking to pilot territorial management and agricultural development in line with sustainable territorial strategies.

This document synthetises key methodological principles of the BFAT methodology and database. It details the core methodological approach for estimating the impact of agricultural commodities according to the practices implemented in the field.