TAPELine Project – Transitioning to Agroecology through participatory Learning

TAPELINE—Transitioning to Agroecology through participatory Learning, Implementation of TAPE Tool, strategizing, Networking, and Enrolling—is an ambitious European Project aimed at transforming territorial agri-food systems through participatory, data-driven agroecological practices.

The project’s central objective is to accelerate the adoption of agroecology (AE) at both farm and landscape levels by operationalizing the FAO’s Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE) across five European countries—Belgium, Switzerland, Cyprus, Germany, and Italy. TAPELINE addresses the persistent gap between agroecological research and practical, systemic application by anchoring its activities in local contexts through Living Labs, stakeholder-driven co-learning, and strategic governance.

The TAPELINE project integrates Living Labs as dynamic, participatory environments where agroecological principles are tested, co-developed, and adapted in real-world territorial settings. These labs serve as open spaces for experimentation, learning, and stakeholder collaboration, bridging the gap between research, policy, and local practice. A pilot Living Lab will be established in the mountain regions of Cyprus, focusing on revitalising rural communities, strengthening multi-actor collaboration, and testing agroecological interventions on the ground. Based on this pilot, TAPELINE will explore replication of the Living Lab model in the project’s other territories (Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, and Italy), adapting approaches to diverse socio-ecological contexts. Each Living Lab brings together farmers, researchers, civil society actors, and policymakers to collectively evaluate current farming systems using the TAPE tool, design transition strategies, and pilot agroecological innovations tailored to their region. The goal is to empower local actors to drive sustainable change while generating replicable models of territorial agroecological transition.