On 25 May 2026, the first SCALARE Living Lab workshop in Egypt took place in the Nubaria region, bringing together scientists, farmers, and local stakeholders to discuss the future of agroforestry systems in the region. The workshop was facilitated by Dr. Fadi Abdelradi and Dr. Ehab Mostafa of Cairo University. Following the World Café methodology, participants were divided into three thematic groups, with a balanced mix of experienced practitioners and younger academics and a good gender representation among attendees.
Discussions covered three areas: technical aspects of agroforestry, economic viability, and local knowledge and social norms. On the technical side, the clearest priority was the development of optimized species and design packages, meaning ready-to-use combinations of tree and crop species, spacing and shade models, and pruning schedules. Small-scale field test platforms to validate these designs under real conditions were also seen as important. In economic terms, participants gave top priority to marketing cooperatives and gathering groups that would allow farmers to pool their harvests and negotiate better prices, followed by more accessible financing through the Agricultural Bank and development partnerships. On local knowledge and social norms, the main priority was building a local dialogue and network, supported by a small steering group to coordinate decisions, along with practical training and farmer-led knowledge exchange.
Across the three groups, several challenges came up repeatedly: limited long-term funding, a lack of specialized marketing channels for value-added products, the need for practical training and field-testing platforms to build confidence, and a shortage of simplified tools for guidance and measurement. These findings are now feeding into three broader directions for the Nubaria Living Lab: design and testing packages, market and finance enablers, and governance and capacity building through dialogue platforms and farmer-led training.
#CU #agroforestry #LivingLabs #CoCreation
